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Community Wellbeing
Biological Diversity
MAKING TOURISM
MORE SUSTAINABLE
A Guide for Policy Makers
Economic Viability
Local Control
Physical Integrity
Environmental Purity
Local Prosperity
Visitor Fulllment
Cultural Richness
Resource Eciency
Social Equity
ii
Foreword
Foreword
International tourist arrivals have almost quadrupled over the past 30 years and
domestic tourism has also intensied in most developed and newly industrialized
countries. At the same time, tourist movements have spread geographically to reach
practically all countries of the globe, becoming for many of them an important
economic sector in terms of income generation, foreign exchange earnings and
employment creation.
Awareness about sustainability issueswhich referred originally to the natural
environment but now also covers the social, economic and cultural spheres as well
as the built environmentalso developed signicantly over those 30 years. Today,
most governments, international development agencies, trade associations, academic
institutions and non-governmental organizations acknowledge that, without
sustainability, there cannot be development that generates benets to all stakeholders,
solves serious and urgent problems such as extreme poverty, and preserves the
precious natural and man-made resources on which human prosperity is based.
The tourism sector could not remain indierent to the sustainability challenge
of our times. This is why the World Tourism Organization (WTO) focuses its
advisory and technical assistance services on policies, development guidelines,
management techniques and measurement instruments that allow national and local
governments, as well as the tourism industry, to incorporate sustainability principles
into their decision making process and day-to-day operations. This is why the United
Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has initiated a programme that aims at
integrating environmental sustainability into decision making in the tourism industry
and into consumers purchasing choices, by disseminating technical know-how and
building business networks to catalyse sustainability in the tourism sector.
Making Tourism More Sustainable: a Guide for Policy Makers builds on UNEP and
WTOs previous work on dierent aspects of sustainability, undertaken over the past
ten or so years. This is the rst time that the two organizations have combined their
input in a joint eort to condense all aspects of the sustainability of tourism into
a single publication. In addition to earlier work by WTO and UNEP, an extensive
research survey was undertaken within WTO Member States, in 2003 and 2004,
to identify specic policies and tools applied in their territories that had eectively
contributed to making their tourism sector more sustainable. The conclusions drawn
and the policies and tools recommended in this Guide are therefore based on real
cases, collected from around the world, that have proven to be eective and successful
in achieving the aims of sustainable development.
Development of the Guide, which provides a blueprint for governments to formulate
and implement sustainable tourism policies, was one of the most important building
blocks in the partnership between UNEP and WTO, also beneting, in this case,
from a Ford Foundation grant.
Each national or local government will surely need to select those policies and tools
considered most suitable to its particular circumstances, and adapt them to the
conditions prevailing in its country, region or local jurisdiction.
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Foreword
The Guide denes what sustainability means in tourism, what are the eective
approaches for developing strategies and policies for more sustainable tourism, and
the tools that would make the policies work on the ground. It shows clearly that
there is no one-ts-all solution to address the question of sustainability in tourism
development. It does, however, highlight one key universal message: to succeed in
making tourism more sustainable it is crucial to work hand in hand with all relevant
stakeholders, within and outside government. Thereforealthough the report is
aimed mainly at governmentspublic authorities at all levels are encouraged to
disseminate its contents to those private and non-governmental organizations that
have an interest in ensuring the long-term success of the tourism sector, especially the
wide range of tourism businesses and their trade associations.
The long standing partnership between the WTO and UNEP is a living example of
the need for and benets of cooperation.
iv
Francesco Frangialli
Klaus Toepfer
Secretary General
World Tourism Organization
Executive Director
United Nations Environment Programme
Acknowledgements
Acknowledgements
Conception, technical editing and supervision
Giulia Carbone (UNEP) and Eugenio Yunis (WTO)
Principal consultant
Richard Denman, The Tourism Company, United Kingdom
Design
The Graphic Environment
UNEP and WTO are grateful to the following for their input
For contribution to the case studies:
Australia: Alice Crabtree, David Morgans
Bulgaria: Kamelia Georgieva
Costa Rica: Amos Bien
Egypt: Bill Meade, Ahmed Hassan
Ghana: Wouter Schalken
Mexico: Liliana Garcia Huerta
Kaikoura, New Zealand: Kirsty Quickfall, Ian Challenger
South Africa: Anna Spenceley, Johann Kotze
Calvia, Spain: Rachel Dodds
Scotland, UK: Sandy Dear, Jon Proctor
UNEP and WTO are grateful to the Ford Foundation for its
nancial support which has made this project possible.
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FOREWORD
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
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INTRODUCTION
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3.1
3.2
3.3
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4.1
4.2
4.3
4.4
4.5
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Table of Contents
Table of Contents
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Table of Contents
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CASE STUDIES
Australia: strategies leading to practical tools
Bulgaria: National Ecotourism Strategy and Action Plan
Costa Rica: commitment supported by certication
Egypt: Red Sea Sustainable Tourism Initiative
Ghana: community based tourism initiative
Mexico: Agenda 21 for tourism in Mexico
Kaikoura (New Zealand): sustainability of a small community
South Africa: Tourism White Paper and subsequent initiatives
Calvi (Spain): Local Agenda 21 and resort rejuvenation
Scotland (UK): Tourism and Environment Forum and
Green Tourism Business Scheme
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ANNEX 1
Baseline issues and indicators of sustainable tourism
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ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
General information on sustainable development: impacts and principles
Sustainable development of tourism: principles, policies and guidelines
Structures and strategies to work with other stakeholders
Measurement instruments
Command and control instruments
Economic instruments
Voluntary instruments
Supporting instruments
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CBD
CFCs
CSD
CSR
EIA
GRI
ICZM
ILO
IUCN
LA21
LAC
MSME
NGO
SEA
TIC
TOI
UNDP
UNEP
UNESCO
USAID
WSSD
WTO
WTTC
List of Abbreviations
List of Abbreviations
Convention on Biological Diversity
Chlorouorocarbons
Commission on Sustainable Development
Corporate social responsibility
Environmental impact assessment
Global Reporting Initiative
Integrated coastal zone management
International Labour Organisation
International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural
Resources (World Conservation Union)
Local Agenda 21
Limits of acceptable change
Micro, small and medium sized enterprise
Non-governmental organisation
Strategic environmental assessment
Tourist information centre
Tour Operators Initiative
United Nations Development Programme
United Nations Environment Programme
United Nations Educational, Scientic and Cultural Organisation
The US Agency for International Development
World Summit on Sustainable Development
World Tourism Organization
World Travel and Tourism Council
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Introduction
Introduction
Tourism is an activity that has grown by around 25 per cent in the past 10 years. It
now accounts for around 10 per cent of the worlds economic activity and is one of the
main generators of employment. However, it also has major impacts on the natural
and built environments and on the wellbeing and culture of host populations. In
roughly that same period, the concept of sustainable development has become widely
accepted as the way to a better future, even though its roots go back to the 1980s.
It is against this background that Making Tourism More Sustainable: A Guide for Policy
Makers views the eects of tourism, both positive and negative. In this context, the
Guide examines ways in which principally governments but also other stakeholders
can develop strategies, policies and tools to maximize the industrys positive eects
while minimizing the negative impacts.
Tourism can play a signicant role in sustainable development and the United
Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Tourism Organization
(WTO) wish to encourage all countries to make sure that their policies and actions
for its development and management fully embrace the principles of sustainability.
Likewise, policies to promote sustainable development should take full account of the
opportunities oered by tourism.
Various international conventions and declarations have put forward principles
and guidelines for sustainable tourism and the importance of tourism and
its sustainability was underlined at the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable
Development. Many countries declare that they are pursuing, or wish to pursue,
policies for sustainable tourism. Despite this interest, there remains a degree of
uncertainty over the scope and priorities for making tourism more sustainable and
only partial appreciation of how to put this into practice.
All tourism should be more sustainable
Sustainable tourism is not a discrete or special form of tourism. Rather, all forms of
tourism should strive to be more sustainable.
Making tourism more sustainable is not just about controlling and managing
the negative impacts of the industry. Tourism is in a very special position to
benet local communities, economically and socially, and to raise awareness and
support for conservation of the environment. Within the tourism sector, economic
development and environmental protection should not be seen as opposing
forcesthey should be pursued hand in hand as aspirations that can and should be
mutually reinforcing. Policies and actions must aim to strengthen the benets and
reduce the costs of tourism.
Big issues are at stake here. Further massive growth is predicted for tourism between
now and 2020, providing excellent opportunities for spreading prosperity but
presenting considerable challenges and potential threats to the environment and
local communities if not well managed. Climate change is recognized as a major
global issue, with signicant implications for tourism. There is also an increasing
appreciation of the potential role of tourism in addressing world poverty, by bringing
sources of income to the heart of some of the poorest communities.
Many dierent interests can benet from tourism being made more sustainable:
Tourism enterprises, while seeking long term protability, should be concerned
about their corporate image, the relationship with their sta, and their impact on
the global environment and that immediately around them.
Local communities are seeking increased prosperity but without exploitation or
damage to their quality of life.
Environmentalists are concerned about the harmful impacts of tourism but also
see it as a valuable source of income for conservation.
Tourists are seeking a high quality experience in safe and attractive environments;
they are becoming more aware of the impacts of their travelling.
In seeking more sustainable tourism, governments must recognize the dierent positions
and motivations of these stakeholders and work with them to achieve common goals.
Governments play a leading role
Sustainability is the responsibility of all those involved in tourism. Most of the
impacts of tourism are the result of actions taken by private sector enterprises and by
tourists themselves. However, there is a clear need for governments to take a leading
role if truly signicant progress is to be achieved in making tourism more sustainable.
This is because:
The tourism industry is very fragmented. It is dicult for the individual
actions of many micro and small businesses to make a positive dierence and
coordination is required.
Sustainability relates to areas of public concernair, water, natural and cultural
heritage and the quality of life. Moreover, many of the relevant resources are
managed by governments.
Governments have many of the tools that can be used to make a dierencesuch
as the power to make regulations and oer economic incentives, and the resources
and institutions to promote and disseminate good practice.
Governments should provide an environment that enables and encourages the
private sector, tourists and other stakeholders to respond to sustainability issues.
This can best be achieved by establishing and implementing a set of policies for
tourism development and management, drawn up in concert with others, that place
sustainability at its centre.
The principles of sustainable development put emphasis on local determination and
implementation of policies and actions. This should be placed within a supportive
national policy framework.
Who this Guide is for
The Guide is primarily aimed at governments, at both national and local levels. It is also
relevant to international development agencies, NGOs and the private sector, to the
extent that they are aected by, and can aect, tourism policy and its implementation.
Introduction
Introduction
Initially, a postal survey was carried out by the WTO asking governments to submit
information about their existing policies and initiatives relating to the sustainability
of tourism. This was supplemented by a survey of experts and practitioners known
by UNEP and the WTO to be working in this eld. They were asked to recommend
examples of good practice against a checklist of instruments. A call for examples
was also issued through the regional oces of UNEP, at a number of relevant
international conferences, and through publications such as the newsletter of The
International Ecotourism Society.
Box I.1: Initial motivations and triggers
It is instructive at the outset to consider the kinds of motivational factors that might
lead a country or local destination to pay more attention to sustainability issues in its
policy making for tourism.
A fundamental, overarching national policy position, putting sustainability at the
top of the public agenda.
In South Africa, all recent policies seek to support a process of reconstruction and
development, with social empowerment and transformation being driving forces.
A perceived need to change direction from high impact tourism in order to reduce
impacts on the local environment and improve quality of the product oer in line
with new market trends.
Calvi (Spain), Mexico and Egypt provide examples of destinations with established
or developing coastal resorts and heritage towns where it was realized that better
planning and reduced environmental impact were essential for long term economic as
well as environmental sustainability.
A need to back up a tourism product and market position that is based on
the appeal of the areas natural environment with policy to underpin its good
management and future sustainability.
In Costa Rica, early success with ecotourism dened the market positioning of
the country as a nature based destination and has stimulated an emphasis on
sustainability in the countrys tourism strategy. In Kaikoura (New Zealand) the focus
on environmental management underpins the towns appeal as a green destination
based on a stunning coastal setting and a whale watching product. In Scotland
and Australia, the initial interest stemmed from the importance of the ne natural
environment for the countrys tourism.
The need and opportunity to develop a form of tourism which would bring income
to rural communities and benet conservation, with a supportive policy framework.
This is the situation in Bulgaria, where individual ecotourism projects were failing
through lack of coordination and marketing. In Ghana the creation of a network of
community-based tourism projects has raised the level of interest in tourism as a tool
for sustainable development and the ght against poverty.
Case Studies
Introduction
Ten Case Studies have been prepared from the material collected, and are presented
at the end of the document. Rather than focusing on individual policies or
instruments, they illustrate the more comprehensive approaches adopted by dierent
countries or destinations. They have been chosen to represent dierent types of
destinations, facing a variety of challenges and with contrasting motives for seeking
more sustainable tourism. Most employ a range of instruments and the Case Studies
illustrate how they can be used together. The Case Studies illustrate a broad range
of situations that may be reected in many other destinations. Linkages to the Case
Studies also punctuate the text, at points where they throw additional light on the
subject under discussion.
The text is further illustrated by Boxes, like the one below, which describe individual
instruments and approaches by giving specic examples from around the world.
Tourism and
Sustainability
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The concept has evolved since the 1987 denition, notably through Agenda 21,
the plan of action which emerged from the UN Conference on Environment and
Development (Rio, 1992), and the plan of implementation from the World Summit
on Sustainable Development ( Johannesburg, 2002). Three dimensions or pillars of
sustainable development are now recognized and underlined. These are:
Economic sustainability, which means generating prosperity at dierent levels of
society and addressing the cost eectiveness of all economic activity. Crucially, it is
about the viability of enterprises and activities and their ability to be maintained
in the long term.
Social sustainability, which means respecting human rights and equal
opportunities for all in society. It requires an equitable distribution of benets,
with a focus on alleviating poverty. There is an emphasis on local communities,
maintaining and strengthening their life support systems, recognizing and
respecting dierent cultures and avoiding any form of exploitation.
Environmental sustainability, which means conserving and managing resources,
especially those that are not renewable or are precious in terms of life support.
It requires action to minimize pollution of air, land and water, and to conserve
biological diversity and natural heritage.
It is important to appreciate that these three pillars are in many ways interdependent
and can be both mutually reinforcing or in competition. Delivering sustainable
development means striking a balance between them.
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aect attitudes and concerns for sustainability issues not only while travelling but
throughout peoples lives.
Dependency: Much of tourism is based on visitors seeking to experience intact
and clean environments, attractive natural areas, authentic historic and cultural
traditions, and welcoming hosts with whom they have a good relationship. The
industry depends on these attributes being in place.
This close and direct relationship creates a sensitive situation, whereby tourism can be
both very damaging but also very positive for sustainable development.
On the positive side, tourism can:
Provide a growing source of opportunities for enterprise development and
employment creation as well as stimulating investment and support for local
services, even in quite remote communities.
Bring tangible economic value to natural and cultural resources. This can result
in direct income from visitor spending for their conservation, and an increase in
support for conservation from local communities.
Be a force for inter-cultural understanding and peace.
Conversely, tourism can:
Place direct pressure on fragile ecosystems causing degradation of the physical
environment and disruption to wildlife.
Exert considerable pressure on host communities and lead to dislocation of
traditional societies.
Compete for the use of scarce resources, notably land and water.
Be a signicant contributor to local and global pollution.
Be a vulnerable and unstable source of income, as it is often very sensitive to actual
or perceived changes to the environmental and social conditions of destinations.
The net result is that all those involved in tourism have a huge responsibility to
recognize the importance of its sustainable development. Tourism has immense
power to do good. Yet it can also be the vector for the very pressures that may
destroy the assets on which it relies. Developed without concern for sustainability,
tourism can not only damage societies and the environment, it could also contain the
seeds of its own destruction.
For governments, tourism policies that address economic, social and environmental
issues, and which are developed with an awareness of the potential both for harm
and for benet, can channel the forces resulting from the sectors dynamic growth
in a positive direction. For the tourism industry, accepting this responsibility is not
only about good citizenship, it should also be fuelled by a strong element of selfinterest, since any harm that is inicted to the natural, cultural or social environment
of destinations can lead to their eventual destruction or loss of value as a tourism
product. In economic terms, sustainability can guarantee that crucial factor
already mentioned: the viability of enterprises and activities and their ability to be
maintained in the long term.
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Moreover, sustainable tourism should not be taken to imply a nite state of tourism.
In fact, it is often argued that tourism may never be totally sustainablesustainable
development of tourism is a continuous process of improvement.
Confusion over the meaning of sustainable tourism has been compounded in
some countries by use of the term ecotourism as meaning the same as sustainable
tourism. Ecotourism does indeed embrace the principles of sustainability, but it refers
explicitly to a product niche. It is about tourism in natural areas, normally involving
some form of interpretative experience of natural and cultural heritage, positively
supporting conservation and indigenous communities, and usually organized for
small groups. The development of ecotourism can provide a useful tool within
wider strategies towards more sustainable tourism, as was expounded in the Quebec
Declaration on Ecotourism, 2002.5
The WTO has given the full denition of sustainable tourism presented in Box 1.1
emphasizing the need to make all tourism sustainable. Expressed simply, sustainable
tourism can be said to be:
Tourism that takes full account of its current and future economic, social and
environmental impacts, addressing the needs of visitors, the industry, the environment
and host communities.
Making tourism more sustainable means taking these impacts and needs into account
in the planning, development and operation of tourism. It is a continual process of
improvement and one which applies equally to tourism in cities, resorts, rural and
coastal areas, mountains, and protected areas. It can apply to all forms of business and
leisure tourism.
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areas in developing countries receive less than 30 per cent of their basic funding
needs, and some governments have cut spending on conservation by over 50 per cent
in the past decade.
Tourism already makes a major direct contribution to income for protected areas and
heritage sites, through entry fees, permits, concessions, etc. and this can be extended.
More widely, tourism can become a force for more sustainable land management in
all parts of the world by providing an additional or alternative form of livelihood for
farmers and rural communities that is dependent on well maintained natural resources.
Health, safety and security
In recent years, uncertainty about the health and safety of travel and of certain
destinations has caused signicant uctuations in tourism ows. Although this may
be a short term phenomenon and recovery is often fast, it should be regarded as a
global issue for the sustainability of tourism. There are policy implications for image,
for management of information, and for specic measures to improve the safety and
security of tourists.
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in nancial costs. This principle has strong implications both for policies and for the
use of economic instruments to inuence consumption and pollution. In tourism it
has implications, for example, for charges for activities such as transport, admission to
sites and waste disposal.
Minimizing risk takingprecautionary principle
Careful risk assessment is an important component of sustainable tourism
development. Where there is limited evidence about the possible impact of a
development or action, a cautious approach should be adopted. The precautionary
principle means putting in place measures to avoid damage before it occurs rather
than trying to repair it afterwards.
Taking a life cycle perspective
Life-cycle assessment means taking full account of impacts over the entire life of a
product or service, including initial resources used, siting and design, development
and construction, all inputs to its operation, and disposal and after-use implications.
Considering functional alternatives
Consideration should be given to whether the same function can be performed
and the same result achieved by doing things in a way that has more positive and
less negative impacts on resources. For example, in a strategy to improve visitor
satisfaction by adding further recreational opportunities, preference should be given
to those options that bring the least environmental and social impacts and the highest
economic returns.
Respecting limits
The readiness and ability to limit the amount of tourism development or the volume
of tourist ows in a destination or site are central to the concept of sustainable
tourism. Limiting factors may be ecological resilience, resource capacity, community
concerns, visitor satisfaction, etc. These factors should be taken into account in setting
limits that are respected by all concerned.
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6) Local Control
To engage and empower local communities in planning and decision making
about the management and future development of tourism in their area, in
consultation with other stakeholders.
7) Community Wellbeing
To maintain and strengthen the quality of life in local communities, including
social structures and access to resources, amenities and life support systems,
avoiding any form of social degradation or exploitation.
8) Cultural Richness
To respect and enhance the historic heritage, authentic culture, traditions and
distinctiveness of host communities.
9) Physical Integrity
To maintain and enhance the quality of landscapes, both urban and rural, and
avoid the physical and visual degradation of the environment.
10) Biological Diversity
To support the conservation of natural areas, habitats and wildlife, and minimize
damage to them.
11) Resource Eciency
To minimize the use of scarce and non-renewable resources in the development
and operation of tourism facilities and services.
12)Environmental Purity
To minimize the pollution of air, water and land and the generation of waste by
tourism enterprises and visitors.
The order in which these twelve aims are listed does not imply any order of priority.
Each one is equally important.
Many of the aims relate to a combination of environmental, economic and social
issues and impacts, as illustrated by Figure 1.1 and by the examples below:
Economic viability of tourism depends strongly on maintaining the quality of the
local environment.
Visitor fullment is about meeting visitors needs and providing opportunities (a
social aim), but is also very important for economic sustainability.
Cultural richness is often considered to be in the social sphere of sustainability,
but it has a strong bearing on environmental aspects in terms of the built
environment and cultural dimensions of societys interaction with nature.
Community wellbeing, which can be seen mainly as a social aim, is strongly
related to environmental resource management, for example with respect to access
to fresh water.
Employment quality and social equity issues, such as poverty alleviation, relate
closely to both economic and social sustainability issues.
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Figure 1.1: Relationship between the 12 aims and the pillars of sustainability
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looking for, or selling, special interest holidays involving nature observation and
concern for conservation as a primary motivation for the trip. Wider surveys that
have attempted to assess the degree to which general consumers are interested in the
interrelationship between their activities as tourists and the environment and host
communities (rather than their response to the concept of sustainability as a whole)
suggest a far wider relevance in the market place. They point to:
Very high levels of concern for environment and society in destinations, where the
issue is likely to directly aect the tourists own wellbeing (e.g. cleanness of the
water and levels of safety).
High and growing levels of interest by tourists in visiting natural and cultural
sites during their holidays, and the authenticity and educational value of such
experiences. This applies to general holidaymakers as well as to those with a
specialist interest.
Large numbers of tourists expressing concern about the impact of their travelling,
both through their own actions and in their choice of tour operator or service provider.
Considerable willingness to pay more to support local environments and communities.
Some statistical evidence backing up these conclusions is presented in Box 1.2.
Despite this positive feedback, it is important to be realistic about the balance of
inuences on holiday choice. Visitor surveys and practical experience suggest that
overall perceived attractiveness of a destination, climate, convenience, quality of
facilities, and price still far outweigh concerns for the impact of travel. However,
the latter concerns do make a dierence to holiday choices if the former factors are
considered equal. It also appears that tourists are more likely to be concerned about
impacts on the local environment and the quality of life of their hosts than about global
issues. Finally, there is less evidence that tourists have actually taken actions to change
their travel and consumption patterns, despite their expressed concern and interest.
The challenge therefore remains to provide more leadership, incentives and
information to ensure a genuine response. In line with the broad approach advocated
in this Guide, the strategy should be to encourage all tourists to be more aware of
the impacts of their travelling and be more interested and concerned about host
populations, rather than to try to seek out the sustainable tourist.
Corporate Social Responsibility in the tourism sector
There is a general trend amongst private sector businesses to recognize their
responsibilities to society beyond their traditional functions of generating wealth and
prot. Governments can use this growing awareness when developing industry-related
policies and activities and as a lever to achieve industry involvement and buy-in.
In companies, the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) means adopting
transparent business practices that are based on ethical values. It has started to gain
ground and many companies already include social and environmental commitments
in their core mission statements. Some adopt triple bottom line reporting, whereby
social and environmental results are measured and reported next to nancial results.
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These arguments and functions are applicable at both national and local
government levels.
In many countries, many of the objectives and actions that governments are pursuing
can be said to be in line with sustainability, and there is considerable recent interest
in relating tourism policies to wider sustainable development or poverty reduction
strategies. However, as has already been pointed out, the understanding of what
the sustainable development of tourism entails, and even the terminology, is not
consistent between governments. A more systematic approach to link sustainability
aims and principles to policies and tools is needed.
Notes
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Policy Implications
of a Sustainable Tourism Agenda
Policy Implications
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Policy Implications
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Policy Implications
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Policy Implications
Strengthening links between businesses means addressing the local supply chain.
Policies may seek to:
Encourage and facilitate local sourcing of supplies. Tour operators should be
encouraged to use locally based service providers and products that are most
likely to benet local communities. Service providers should be encouraged
to undertake an audit of sources used (such as food producers) and to seek to
maximize the proportion of local suppliers. Using local products can greatly
enhance the authenticity of the tourist oer and the multiplier eect of tourism
in local economies. Achieving a consistent supply of high quality local goods
can be a challenge, but is necessary to reduce the need for imported goods and
thus reduce leakages. This can be facilitated by the creation of wholesale markets
or consortia.
Encourage clusters and networking of businesses. This means getting businesses
to work more closely together, thereby achieving more for themselves and
for the local community. It can be achieved through planning policies that
encourage geographical clustering and through capacity building or marketing
to support trade associations. Networks may be formed between similar service
providers, for mutual support and cost and benet sharing; between providers
of dierent kinds of tourism service, to strengthen packaging of oers; and
between enterprises in dierent sectors (e.g. between accommodation operators
and suppliers of food or handicrafts), to strengthen the supply chain.
Recognize the needs of multiple occupations, including tourism. Many parts
of the world have a tradition of local people being involved in a variety of
dierent occupations at the same time, either as employees or running a number
of businesses together, sometimes on the same land holding. This can t well
with the seasonal nature of tourism. Supporting such activity is very much in
line with the holistic principles of sustainable development. Policies relating to
taxation and business practice should facilitate and not penalize this.
Inuencing levels of visitor spending
Local prosperity can be strengthened by demand-side policies, which seek to:
Attract higher spending markets. Some market segments are more likely than
others to spend money within destinations visited.
Increase length of stay as well as the availability of spending opportunities
and visitors awareness of them. This can be achieved by promoting longerstay markets and encouraging existing visitors to stay longer, at the time or on
return visits. It may involve seeking an optimum level of attractions, events and
other activities and outlets to retain visitor interest. Extending the opening
hours of attractions can also make a dierence. The provision of eective local
information services can increase visitors awareness of places to visit and things
to do, thereby raising the level of spending.
Promote the purchasing of local products. This means strengthening the whole
retailing process as well as the quality, price, distribution and display of local
products such as food, drink and handicrafts.
29
Policy Implications
30
2
Policy Implications
needs. A set of principles, reecting such good practice, and based on the ILOs
Tripartite Declaration of Principles, is given in Box 2.1.
It is important to set labour standards that can be realistically attained by both
domestic and international operators, providing a level playing eld between them
and ensuring maximum compliance by everyone.
Encouraging enterprises to provide skills training programmes
and career advancement
A high quality, loyal labour force is a great asset to an enterprise and to the reputation
of a destination. This can be achieved through investment in skill development and
vocational training, and reinforced by occupational development and opportunities
for promotion and advancement. Policies should be concerned with:
Inuencing enterprises to provide training, e.g. through incentives.
Establishing publicly driven and supported human resource development and
training programmes, in local destinations or for groups of enterprises.
31
Policy Implications
32
Policy Implications
33
most countries, a large part of the population is aected in some way by disability
for instance having a disabled person within the family group. Consideration needs
to be given both to those with physical disabilities, including wheelchair users, and
to those with sensory and learning diculties. Good physical access can also benet
other categories, such as families with small children. Issues to address include the
design and layout of buildings and sites, access to public transport, and the provision
of eective information to such groups.
Policy Implications
34
directly in their planning and implementation are much more likely to be successful
in delivering local benets and to be sustained over time. Policy in this area is not,
however, just about engagement through consultation processes; it is also about
empowering communities to inuence decisions about the developments and
activities that will aect their future while enabling the needs of other legitimate
interests to be taken into account.
Policy Implications
35
Policy Implications
36
Reducing congestion
Policy Implications
Congestion, especially at peak times, caused by the volume of visitors and/or their
vehicles, can be a primary threat to community wellbeing. It can be addressed by
visitor management policies and actions including:
Managing demand and reducing seasonality by marketing and pricing techniques
to promote o-season visits, or by promoting alternative locations to spread visits
within and outside of the destination.
Improving trac management through physical changes, signage, information,
and promotion of alternative transport options.
Addressing specic types of activity that may bring large inuxes of visitors at
certain times (e.g. management of cruise ship arrivals).
Careful planning and management of tourism enterprises and infrastructure
Forward thinking in the layout and design of tourist destinations and in the provision
of services can make a signicant dierence to the impact on communities. Relevant
approaches include:
Planning the scale, design and siting of new tourism development, to take account
of the overall amenity of the destination and the location of residential areas and
other activities within the community.
Planning the development of infrastructure, including transport, water and energy
supplies, which should be designed to meet the combined needs of visitors and
the community.
Maximizing the availability of open space and other amenity areas, including
beaches, that are accessible for use by residents and visitors.
Where appropriate, encouraging tourism enterprises and their visitors to
minimize water consumption.
Promoting mutual use of facilities and services by residents and tourists
Where possible, facilities and amenities developed for tourists should also be made
available to members of the local community. In some locations, visitor spending can
make the dierence in ensuring viability of community services and facilities, such
as local shops and village halls. Use of such services by tourists should be encouraged
through information, events, etc.
Inuencing the behaviour of tourists towards local communities
Many of the more specic and serious problems faced by communities as a result of
tourism are due to behaviour of individual tourists or particular groups. This can be
inuenced through:
Information, provided before and during the visit, on the nature of the host
community, their values and any particular sensitivities that should be respected.
Regulating certain aspects of visitor behaviour, such as noise and littering.
Mounting or supporting campaigns, backed by legislation as appropriate, to
combat sex tourism and the exploitation of children.
37
Policy Implications
38
improved information for guests and hosts and interaction between them. However,
in all these activities, sensitivity is required and comodication or devaluing of local
culture must be avoided. Policies should focus on:
Policy Implications
39
Attention should be paid not only to the building of tourism facilities, such as
accommodation, but also to a wide range of associated infrastructure, such as airports,
roads, marinas, and ski tows and slopes. Policies should address in particular:
Policy Implications
The scale and density of new development and the extent of urbanization. In
many areas, new structures should be avoided in order to keep the place natural.
In some situations, policies relating to tourism development may favour the reuse
and regeneration of existing buildings and previously used sites rather than new
building on greeneld sites. In some situations, clustering of buildings may be
more appropriate than sporadic development.
The siting of new structures with respect to physical landform, vegetation, and the
coherence of existing urban structures. Policies should seek an optimum amount
of open space and the retention of tree cover. The height of new structures
should be sensitive to urban skylines and to the height of trees. In coastal and
lakeside settings it may be necessary to establish set back limits for new building
(minimum distance from the high water mark).
Quality of development and attention to detail. The impact of tourism
development depends partly on sympathetic and creative designs, eective
landscaping using indigenous species, and use of high quality materials. The
design of new buildings should be in harmony with the landscape, and where
appropriate reect traditional designs.
The robustness of structures and their ability to withstand the eects of climate
change and natural disasters.
The long term future and after use of buildings and sites. Consideration should be
given to the life cycle of tourism developments and to policies and resources for
maintenance and renewal. For some forms of tourism, such as one-o events or
seasonal structures, there may be important issues of after use of sites in the short term.
As well as addressing the nature and location of development, policies and control
measures may seek to minimize physical degradation caused by the construction
process, including care over site preparation, the extraction of building materials, and
the removal and treatment of construction waste (see Aim 2.12).
Minimizing the physical impact of tourist activity
Physical degradation of the environment can result from the actions of tourists. This
can arise from all types of tourism but is most specically associated with certain
recreational activities. Particular problems to address include:
Erosion resulting from over-use of sites. This can be a signicant issue with
popular hiking trails, especially where surfaces are fragile.
Damage to marine structures, such as coral reefs, from diving or boating activities.
Environmental degradation caused by dropping of litter.
Willful damage, such as grati.
Policies and actions to minimize such impacts include:
Visitor management measures to reduce pressures and deect activities to more
robust sites.
Educational activity to change behaviour.
Development of codes of conduct, supported by regulation where necessary.
40
Policy Implications
As well as inuencing tourism development and activities per se, policies should seek
to maintain the integrity and attractiveness of tourist destinations, including towns
and rural areas, by inuencing development and maintenance in general, including:
Controlling intrusive new development, such as unsightly buildings.
Controlling activities that will damage landscapes, such as mineral extraction or
destruction of forests.
Maintaining the fabric and facades of properties, especially historic buildings.
Maintaining traditional rural landscapes and features.
Minimizing the impact of intrusive structures such as power lines.
Avoiding the proliferation of advertisements and signing.
Maintaining the quality of public open spaces.
Maintenance of physical integrity and attractive landscapes may partly be achieved
through extending and strengthening protected areas and how they relate to tourism.
This is covered in more detail under Aim 2.10. However, the overall aim is relevant to
all areas and policies and actions should not be restricted to places with protected status.
41
and to focus on sustainable tourism that increases visitor awareness and support
for conservation. In many countries, authorities responsible for national parks and
protected areas have taken a strong interest in tourism, seeing it as a source of
income, an opportunity for a sustainable livelihood for park-based communities and
as an activity that needs careful management.6 Important policy issues include:
Policy Implications
42
Policy Implications
Private parks and nature reserves have grown signicantly in many countries in recent
years. Most are actively involved in tourism and there is an opportunity and need to
inuence their development and management. Priorities include:
Ensuring that private parks do not siphon away resources, including tourism
income, to the detriment of conservation in public parks.
Ensuring that private parks maintain high conservation and tourism standards.
This may involve developing appropriate legal frameworks.
Integrating the management of private and public parks into a single biodiversity plan.
Minimizing damage to natural heritage from tourism
Careful control of tourism development is particularly important in order to avoid
damage in areas of high landscape value or where biodiversity may be especially
vulnerable. Guidelines for an agreed development planning process that will deliver
such control are set out in the Convention on Biological Diversity.9
Policies and actions should also seek to minimize damage to habitats and disturbance
of wildlife by visitors. This relates closely to the damage to physical integrity by
tourist activity, notably by particular types of recreation, covered under Aim 2.9, and
the measures indicated there are relevant.
Policies should also seek to minimize damage and disturbance from visitors. This applies
to all tourists, but a particular focus may be required on certain recreational activities such
as diving and adventure tourism in sensitive environments. Policy areas include:
Raising awareness through education and interpretation.
Visitor managementcontrolling visitor numbers and behaviour (e.g. physical
damage, wildlife disturbance, littering).
Policies should also be put in place that prevent tourism from contributing to the
threat to endangered species by either stimulating illegal trade in such species or
purchasing of souvenirs made from them.
Raising visitor awareness of biodiversity
Providing tourists with a better appreciation and understanding of the natural
heritage of the places they visit should help to prevent adverse impacts and encourage
support for conservation, as well as enhancing their enjoyment. Policies and actions
should support the provision of:
43
Policy Implications
44
coastal regions. In many tourist destinations new sources of water, such as desalination
plants, would be dicult to establish, costly and bring their own environmental
problems. Policies to minimize water consumption are required and should address:
Policy Implications
Restricting water hungry facilities such as swimming pools, golf courses, and
articial snow cannons.
Reusing and recycling water where possible, (e.g. use of greywater to irrigate
parks and gardens).
Improving infrastructure and maintenance (e.g. reducing leakages).
Encouraging installation of water ecient technology such as low-ow showers
and toilets.
Persuading visitors to be responsible in their use of water.
Minimizing consumption of energy from non-renewable resources
Policies on energy use should seek to inuence both sources of supply and
consumption, including:
Promoting the use of designs and materials for tourism facilities that maximize
insulation and the use of natural heat, light and ventilation.
Providing renewable energy sources in tourist destinations.
Encouraging individual tourism enterprises to generate their own energy supply,
or to supplement it, from renewable sources (such as photovoltaic systems and
mini hydro schemes).
Encouraging use of energy ecient plant and equipment for lighting, water
heating, cooking, etc.
Promoting resource ecient transport options (discussed further under Aim 2.12).
Persuading visitors to be responsible in their use of energy.
Ensuring the efcient use of land and raw materials in tourism development
In some tourist destinations land may be in short supply. It is therefore important
to select sites for tourism development carefully, taking account of alternative uses
and the needs of the local community. Although use of local materials can add
to quality and distinctiveness, the design and construction of tourism facilities
should avoid proigate use of naturally occurring materials such as timber, stone,
sand and gravel, and should take account of the capacity of local supply and
competing demands.
Promoting a reduce, reuse, recycle mentality
In general, tourism enterprises should be encouraged to be ecient in all their use
of materials. This is equally true for their use of resources and generation of waste.
These themes are covered under Aim 2.12. Policies should support:
Purchasing of supplies from sustainable sources. This can be helped by better
information on local availability of such sources and ecolabelling schemes for
relevant consumer products.
Minimizing use of unnecessary packaging, for example through economic
incentives to return containers such as bottles.
45
Policy Implications
46
Policy Implications
47
The location of new development. This includes its general location in terms of
the overall environmental sensitivity of the area and its setting, for example in
relation to the coast or public transport links.
Design and materials used. These can inuence operational impacts such as
emissions, treatment and disposal of waste, etc.
The construction process. Construction should take place with minimum
disturbance to the environment. In many areas, especially coastal sites, it has
been found that waste and emissions from the construction phase can be more
disruptive to the local environment than the operational phase.
Policy Implications
Notes
1 The policy areas identied here reect a seven point model for addressing poverty through
tourism contained in Tourism and Poverty Alleviation Recommendations for Action.
World Tourism Organisation, 2004.
2 The WTO dened guidelines to facilitate tourism for people with disabilities as early as
1991 (see WTO General Assembly resolution Creating opportunities for handicapped
people: http://www.world-tourism.org/quality/E/main.htm).
3 International Campaign Against Sexual Exploitation of Children in Tourism
http:// http://www.ecpat.org/preventing-child-sex-tourism.html.
4 A detailed treatment of management measures can be found in the Handbook on
Tourism Congestion Management at Natural and Cultural Sites WTO, 2004. See also
the UNEP/UNESCO manual on tourism management in World Heritage Sites, 2002.
5 The participants to the WTO/UNESCO/Sultanate of Oman conference in Muscat,
Oman, (February 2005), issued a Declaration on Built Environments for Sustainable
Tourism calling on governments to take action in this area.
6 A comprehensive treatment of the relationship between tourism and protected areas can
be found in Sustainable Tourism in Protected Areas UNEP, WTO, IUCN, 2002.
7 See recommendations 22 and 23 of the World Parks Congress 2003 held in Durban,
South Africa. http://www.iucn.org/themes/wcpa/wpc2003/english/outputs/
recommendations.htm.
8 The Quebec Declaration on Ecotourism (2002) provides a framework for sound
ecotourism policies. http://www.world-tourism.org/sustainable/IYE/quebec/.
9 Guidelines on Biodiversity and Tourism Development, Convention on Biological
Diversity 2003.
48
Structures and
Strategies
Structures and
Startegies
The holistic and equitable principles that underpin sustainable development imply
the need to bring together a wide range of stakeholders to develop and manage
tourism in a sustainable manner.
In bringing together these dierent interests, governments must seek to develop
structures that have two purposes:
Engaging stakeholders in the formulation of a strategy and policies for
sustainable tourism.
Ensuring eective coordination of actions and an ongoing dialogue between
stakeholders.
In many situations both purposes can be met by the same structures. Permanent
structures are required to ensure coordination; additional, temporary, working
structures may also be needed in the policy formulation stages.
Structures can be developed in partnership with other stakeholders, to:
Raise the prole of the sustainable development of tourism, and to ensure that
those who can inuence it give it their full attention.
Give a say in the development and management of tourism to those whose
interests or areas of responsibility will be aected by its impacts.
Bring together knowledge and expertise on economic, social and environmental
issues that are relevant to tourism.
Ensure that polices and actions in other sectors or areas of activity that impinge
on tourism are coordinated and taken into account, to prevent policy conicts and
enhance synergy.
Encourage wide commitment of support and resources to a common, agreed
programme.
Box 3.1 gives an example of how dierent stakeholders have been brought together
in Honduras.
Relationships and coordination structures within government
Many areas of government have responsibility for policies and actions that have a
strong bearing on the sustainability of tourism. These are listed in Table 3.1.
The degree of priority given to dierent aspects of sustainability will depend on
which part of government is responsible for tourism. For example, a separate
Ministry of Tourism has the advantage of being able to make relevant connections
with and between other ministries, but it may not carry much weight overall. Linking
tourism to the Ministry of Environment can underpin awareness of environmental
sustainability, and reinforce links with national parks or the promotion of nature
based tourism. Location within a Trade or Development Ministry may ensure a
higher political and budgetary prole, but may also lead to greater emphasis on
foreign exchange earnings and less regard for local impacts.
50
Structures and
Strategies
Honduras has introduced a number of initiatives to develop sustainable tourism based on the
countrys high quality natural environment and historic heritage attractions. It has recognized
the importance of having the right structures for ministries and tourism stakeholders to work
together at both a national and local level if it is to achieve its goals.
A special tourism cabinet has been established, involving the President of the Republic and
the Secretaries for Tourism, Environment and Natural Resources, Finance, Justice, Security,
Transport and Public Utilities, and Arts and Culture.
Within the ocial Institute of Tourism, there are separate units dedicated to the Environment
and to Municipal Development.
At a local level, approximately 60 Municipal Tourism Development Commissions have been
established, in each case under the leadership of the Mayor and involving local private sector
tourism interests and NGOs. The Institute of Tourism provides technical assistance and
training to these Commissions, on issues such as tourism management, the application of
environmental legislation and the issuing of guidelines.
Groups of municipalities also work together regionally, for example on a sustainable tourism
initiative on the north coast and the area around the World Heritage Site of Copan.
51
Structures and
Startegies
Queensland,
Australia
adopted a
whole of government
approach. An interministerial committee
was established and senior
executives within each
relevant ministry were
given responsibility for
tourism related work (see
Case Studies, p 130).
Examples of
collaboration
include the
protocol signed between
the Ministries of
Economy, Environment
and Agriculture
in Bulgaria, on
implementation of the
National Ecotourism
Strategy, and the coming
together of the Egyptian
Environmental Aairs
Agency, the Tourism
Development Authority
and the Red Sea
Governorate on planning
policies and regulations
(see Case Studies, p 135
& p 144).
Irrespective of the location of tourism within government, there are some key
requirements if it is to be fully integrated into national sustainable development
strategies. These are:
Tourism should be given a clear, strong voice, with a direct link to top-level
cabinet decision makers.
There should be a formal structure and process for inter-ministerial cooperation
on tourism.
Such relationships should be also reected within and between lower level public
agencies, such as tourist boards and environment agencies.
In addition to these inter-ministerial structures, ministries may collaborate to support
or implement specic initiatives. This may take the form of agreements with local
government, and can involve collaboration between government agencies. It is helpful
if such collaborative structures, agreements and actions are formalized by protocols or
memoranda of understanding.
Structures and mechanisms to engage stakeholders
A sustainable approach to tourism development requires structures that enable
representatives of local authorities and non-governmental interests to become
involved in the formulation and implementation of national tourism strategies and
policies. Governments should establish and manage such structures.
Traditionally, this has been achieved through government agencies, such as tourist
boards, that have private sector representation on their executive committees. While
this should be continued, it is important to nd ways to widen the process through
additional dedicated structures.
Some countries have permanent tourism councils, which are essentially discussion
and advisory bodies. These can be valuable mechanisms for promoting the
sustainability of tourism, provided that their membership is well balanced to reect
the dierent dimensions of sustainability.
Ideally what is required is a permanent forum or standing conference based on a large
number of invited stakeholders representing dierent interests, and a smaller body or
council, perhaps elected from the above, dealing with more detailed work.
Such a multi-stakeholder structure should represent the following, amongst others:
Dierent government departments and agencies representing the areas of
government identied above.
Regional and local authorities.
Dierent segments of the tourism industryhotel associations, tour operator bodies, etc.
International travel trade.
The transport sector (all forms).
Environmental and community-based NGOs.
Cultural heritage bodies.
National parks and other protected areas.
Tourism/recreation user groups.
52
Structures and
Strategies
Such a forum and council should be concerned with all aspects of tourism and should
focus on sustainability.
To ensure a focus on sustainability, it may be appropriate in some countries, to set
up a dedicated inter-agency communication and working group specically for this
purpose. The challenge would be to ensure that the work of such a separate body
relates continually and strongly to the mainstream of tourism and is not marginalized.
Coordination structures at local level
Structures bringing together tourism, environment, community and wider
development interests are also required at the local level. Some or all of the areas and
functions of national government listed in Table 3.1 may be reected within local
authorities. To strengthen the sustainability of tourism, mechanisms should also be
established that encourage joined-up thinking and action within local government.
The Scottish
Tourism and
Environment
Forum is a good example
of what has become
essentially a pressure
group for sustainable
tourism, checking policy
across its members and
promoting good practice
(see Case Studies, p 172).
53
3
Structures and
Startegies
54
Structures and
Strategies
55
Structures and
Startegies
In Bulgaria
steps were
taken to
strengthen the chances
of work on ecotourism
inuencing mainstream
tourism: e.g. integrating
the ecotourism strategy
into the work of regional
tourism associations and
into the preparation by
municipalities of regional
and local development
plans (see Case Studies,
p 135).
Costa Rica and
Australia have
also shown the
potential inuence of work
on ecotourism (see Case
Studies, p 130 & 139).
Bulgaria has
developed
a National
Ecotourism Strategy
in parallel with 12
regional ecotourism action
programmes, with each
informing the other in a
two-way process (see Case
Studies, p 135).
Mexico has
an Agenda 21
initiative that
is about taking action in a
range of local destinations
at the same time. This is
based on a framework
and process established
nationally and reecting
one of the principal pillars
of the National Tourism
Programme (see Case
Studies, p 153).
56
Structures and
Strategies
In South
Africa, a
national
Tourism White Paper
clearly articulates
principles of responsible
tourism that have
provided a direction
for tourism policies and
strategies throughout the
county and have been
reected in the policies,
planning frameworks and
functions established at a
provincial level (see Case
Studies, p 162).
Calvia, in
Spain, is a
major tourism
destination that used
the participatory process
of LA21 to bring all
stakeholders together (see
Case Studies, p 167).
57
Notes
Structures and
Startegies
58
More information can be found in Tourism and Local Agenda 21, UNEP and ICLEI,
2003.
Shaping Sustainable
Tourism
Shaping Sustainable
Tourism
In Calvia, high
level political
support (with
the mayor playing a key
role) added considerable
strength, but underlined
the need for cross-party
commitment to the long
term vision and process
to ensure that it will
last through changes
in political climate.
Weaknesses in delivering
action also pointed, with
hindsight, to a need
to make stakeholders
more accountable for
implementation at the
outset (see Case Studies,
p 167).
Formulation
of the Tourism
White
Paper in Australia
made extensive use of
consultation through the
Internet and email. In
Bulgaria, a wide range of
promotional activity was
used, including numerous
press conferences, the
use of posters in local
communities, etc. (see
Case Studies, p 130 &
p 135).
60
The situation analysis is a rst step in identifying a number of key issues for the
sustainability of tourism in a given destination, and opportunities for the futurefor
example: the viability of enterprises, capacity issues, market trends, environmental
degradation, or community concerns about future development. It can be useful to
capture this in an issues paper that is given wide circulation.
Consultation should be undertaken with a wide range of stakeholders to clarify the
issues. Priorities will begin to emerge from this process. Various consultation and
communication techniques can be used here, including open meetings, stakeholder
workshops and web-based consultation, etc. Involving the local media can be helpful
in generating interest.
Identifying objectives and making choices
National and local governments should work with stakeholders to agree on a vision
and on a broad set of strategic objectives for tourism. These should be based on the
analysis set out above and should also reect closely the 12 aims for sustainable
tourism already described.
The vision and strategic objectives must be appropriate to the country or destination
and fully embrace concerns for economic, social and environmental sustainability.
Objectives will vary from place to place, but they should always aim to strike a
balance in the relative priority given to issues such as alleviating poverty, supporting
conservation or reducing negative environmental impact. These broad objectives
should be the overarching drivers for tourism policies and actions.
Shaping Sustainable
Tourism
At this stage, a number of strategic choices will need to be made, such as the level
and nature of tourism appropriate for the destination, target markets and product
selection. This is discussed further in Section 4.2. Other more specic and measurable
objectives may be identied reecting these strategic choices, and may be linked to
particular policies and actions.
Developing policies and action programmes
This nal stage involves development of specic policies and actions that relate to
the aims and strategic objectives and that reect the strategic choices made. Close
attention should be paid here to the policy areas identied in Chapter 2. It can be
Box 4.1: Analysing the situation
Research and data collection should cover the following:
Analysis of past tourism policies and plans, as well as information and policies
relating more widely to sustainable development and the environment.
Analysis of existing relevant research.
One to one consultation with key stakeholders and people with particular
experience and expertise on relevant topics.
Visitor survey.
Survey of tourism enterprises.
Local residents opinionthis could be through elected representatives, open
meetings, focus groups or household surveys.
Site inspection, as practical and appropriate.
Market opinion (e.g. through tour operators) and competitor analysis.
Information of particular relevance to sustainability issues includes:
The balance of opinion about the level and nature of tourism that is desired and
achievable.
The range of natural and cultural heritage resources, including current state of
preservation, level of use, degree of potential tourism interest and sensitivity to
future use.
Economic and social issues in the destination, including contribution of tourism
alongside other economic sectors.
State of the environment, including water and air quality, etc.
Presence of relevant environmental management processes.
Employment in tourism and support for this.
Enterprise performance, outlooks, needs, etc.
Current visitor ows, market trends and market opportunities.
Visitor satisfaction, including attitudes to environment and other issues.
Tourism infrastructure and support services, including transport, water supply,
etc., and their capacity.
61
Shaping Sustainable
Tourism
62
Shaping Sustainable
Tourism
63
Shaping Sustainable
Tourism
needs, as well as providing more economic benet (a local gain) per distance
travelled (a global environmental cost). However, in many parts of the world,
short trips are growing faster than long trips.
Distance travelled: nearer markets, involving shorter journeys to the destination,
will lower global environmental impact from transport emissions.
Relevance to the oer: some market segments will be more likely than others to
respond positively to the type of destination and products on oer.
Responsibility and impact: destinations with particularly sensitive environments
or communities may target particular segments that are likely to be more
appreciative and responsible or that will, by the nature of their activities, have less
impact on the environment or communities.
Dependability: there are advantages in selecting markets that are less prone to
unpredictable uctuation, resulting from factors such as world events, exchange
rates or the image of the region.
Oering opportunities for all: aiming to ensure visitor fullment implies a need
to be inclusive when oering and facilitating tourism experiences, paying specic
attention to the needs of people who are physically or economically disadvantaged.
Ability to reach the market eciently: markets should only be selected where an
ecient and cost-eective communication process can be identied.
Strategic choices based on these factors need to be made between target markets. For
example, certain international markets may exhibit strong growth, high spend per
head and good anity with the product, but be more seasonal, less dependable, less
inclusive and involve longer journeys. Domestic markets may provide fewer economic
returns, but be more dependable, less seasonal and bring needed social benets
to participants. Where appropriate, business tourism and the MICE (meetings,
incentives, conferences, and exhibitions) markets can deliver high spend out of season.
Sustainability considerations point to the need for destinations to maintain an appeal
to a range of markets, to avoid over-dependency on any one market that may not
be consistent in the long term. The importance of sound market research has been
strongly underlined as a key factor for sustainability.
Product selection
Tourism strategies should consider the balance of products in a destination.
Sustainability considerations may point to gaps in the range of products on oer or
types of product to emphasize.
Few tourism products are inherently unsustainable. In almost all cases, impact
depends on the nature and location of the development and operation. However,
dierent types of product have dierent strengths and weaknesses in terms of their
relevance to sustainability. This is illustrated by Table 4.1.
Governments, together with the private sector, should aim to reduce the potential
disadvantages and reinforce the advantages of the dierent tourism products.
In general, destinations should seek a diversity of types of product, provided they
are in line with market demand, are well planned and developed and are operated to
meet the needs of local communities and environments.
64
Larger resorts
and hotels,
or similar
enterprises
Generation of signicant
employment
Resources to support training
Business and marketing skills;
nancial stability
Ability to invest in environmental
management systems and new
technology
Potential for market diversication
to reduce seasonality
Can absorb large visitor volumes
Medium,
small and
micro
enterprises
Communitybased tourism
Ecotourism
enterprises
Activity
tourism
enterprises
Cultural
tourism
enterprises
Products owned/operated by
community, with sharing of
economic and social benets
Wider community awareness
stimulating local support for
conservation of culture and nature
Delivery of authentic experiences
based on local knowledge
Increased visitor awareness of, and
support for, community issues
Growing market interest
All ecotourism products by
denition should be specically
designed to minimize
environmental impact, and
to support conservation and
communities
Suited to sensitive/protected areas
Growing market interest
Strong recreational benets
Potential to extend season
Can generate new tourism in
remote rural areas
Some environmentally benign
activitieswalking, cycling
Shaping Sustainable
Tourism
Supporting conservation of
heritage and cultural richness
Potential to extend season
Increases visitor awareness
65
Shaping Sustainable
Tourism
66
The tools described below may be useful in addressing the dierent factors explained
in Box 4.3. Others tools are presented in similar fashion in subsequent sections; their
relevance and use are discussed further in Chapter 5.
Shaping Sustainable
Tourism
Tools
Land use planning and development control is the primary tool for inuencing
the location and nature of new tourism development. This may also be linked to
development regulations. In some circumstances, less formal guidelines can also be
useful. The time when new development is being planned or approved can provide an
important opportunity to inuence future sustainability by introducing obligations for
operatorsfor example introduction of requirements for reporting and auditing of
impacts. Economic instruments can be used as an incentive for new development to
incorporate sustainability aspects. Capacity building is important in assisting small
enterprises and communities in deciding on, and implementing, new developments.
Investment in appropriate infrastructure can also aect the sustainability of new
tourism development. The application of sustainability indicators and monitoring
will help to keep a check on the impact of tourism development over time.
Box 4.3 continued
67
Shaping Sustainable
Tourism
68
Other factors for the creation of a suitable context for sustainable enterprises include:
Shaping Sustainable
Tourism
Tools
Legislation, regulation and licensing should cover the most fundamental and serious
impacts of tourism operation such as the welfare of employees and guests, or avoiding
environmental damage. However, much can be achieved by voluntary measures, such
as issuing guidelines and encouraging reporting and auditing. Voluntary certication
provides a useful method for identifying and thereby stimulating good practice.
Economic instruments and coverage in marketing can also provide an incentive,
perhaps linked to certication if appropriate. Capacity building is important in
providing enterprises and communities with the knowledge and skills to improve
their management. In some places, the development and management of appropriate
infrastructure and public services will be necessary to enable enterprises to be
more sustainable. Maintaining regular feedback from enterprises that is set against
sustainability indicators will be important in assessing the impact of policies.
69
Shaping Sustainable
Tourism
Inuencing travel choices and visitor ows means inuencing the nature of trips
taken. Key factors relevant to sustainability include:
When trips are taken: as already mentioned, travel out of season may often be
more sustainable.
Places visited: strategic decisions should be taken about the level of visitation to
be encouraged in dierent areas. For example, visits to protected areas may be
encouraged because of the revenue they bring to conservation or, alternatively,
they may need to be discouraged because of the ecological sensitivity of the area.
Transport used: the signicantly greater environmental impact of travel by private
car or air compared with other forms of transport has already been mentioned.
Operators and enterprises selected: encouraging visitors to select operators that
follow sustainability principles will make consumption more sustainable.
Group size: in many places, larger volumes of people arriving at the same time can
be more disruptive to environments and communities.
Length of stay: in general, longer trips may bring more benets to host
communities and be more sustainable than short trips.
Inuencing visitor behaviour and awareness
Visitors should be encouraged to:
Tools
Messages delivered through marketing and information services constitute the
main method of inuencing visitor ows and behaviour. These may be backed
up as appropriate by the issuing of guidelines and codes of conduct. In some
circumstances, it may be necessary to control visitor ows and behaviour through
regulation, for example where access needs to be restricted or harmful activities
prevented. Voluntary certication provides a valuable tool for enabling tourists to
choose products and enterprises that are more sustainable. Economic instruments
(e.g. pricing) may inuence behaviour and can also be used to raise support from
visitors. The provision and management of appropriate infrastructure such as public
transport is an important enabling tool. Sound management will require processes for
monitoring the ow of visitors and obtaining feedback from them, assessed against
sustainability indicators.
70
Instruments
72
Indicators provide early warning of when a policy change or new action may be
needed, as well as providing a basis for the long term planning and review of tourism.
Box 5.1: Guiding a strategy with sustainability
indicators and targets
In Lanzarote, Canary Islands, Spain, a broad range of indicators were employed to
support planning in the context of the Lanzarote Biosphere Strategy addressing
tourism alongside wider issues of sustainable development. Six key factors were
identied, including the economy and tourism, the terrestrial and marine ecology,
key environmental sectors, population changes, urban development and cultural
identity. After consultation and discussion, indicators were chosen for each issue
and an Island Observatory for Sustainability was established to monitor trends
over time.
The strategy, produced in 1997, contained baseline values for each indicator and
target values for 2007. This has proved most helpful in keeping abreast of changes
and implementing a tourism management system guided by the strategy. In 2003,
the indicators were revised, based on the rst set but adding new ones according to
the islands changing needs.
Instruments
The selection of sustainability indicators can be built into the process of consultation
and participation. This can be most valuable in helping the stakeholders involved to
focus their minds on tangible sustainability issues and priorities. Box 5.1 gives an
example of use of indicators and the process is described more fully in the WTO
guidebook on indicators referred to in Note #1.
Indicators need to be linked to the priority issues identied in the destination. It is
normal for a wide range of possible indicators to be identied initially, which may
then be rened according to relevance and practicability of use.
In addition to their use in planning and making of tourism policy, indicators
can provide a highly eective and exible tool when applied more widely in the
sustainable management of a destination, including to issues such as development
control. Regular monitoring of changes in environmental or social conditions using
indicators can allow for an adaptive management approach that is more exible than
the heavy use of regulation. Use of indicators in this way can be undertaken by local
authorities or be imposed by them on developers. Box 5.15 (page 101) provides a
practical example of the use of indicators in development control.
In Calvia,
750 indicators
were identied
initially by experts. After
further consultation
and examination, they
were reduced to a more
manageable quantity (see
Case Studies, p 167).
73
Monitoring sustainability
5
Instruments
74
Benchmarking
5
Instruments
Kaikoura,
New Zealand,
provides
an example of a
benchmarking process
for a destination against
international standards
within the global Green
Globe 21 system (see Case
Studies, p 157).
In Mexico,
the use of
a standard
set of sustainability
indicators across a
large number of local
destinations, within the
government coordinated
Agenda 21for Tourism
initiative, has provided
the right conditions for
benchmarking (see Case
Studies, p 153).
75
5
Instruments
There are many critics of the concept of carrying capacity as applied to tourism. It is
felt that it can be meaningless and perhaps misleading to put a precise capacity limit
on the number of tourists. The dierent factors aecting capacities and impacts are
both numerous and complex, the concepts are quite subjective, conditions change
over time, and there is no clear way of arriving at a gure.
On the other hand there are many circumstances where it can be very useful, and
sometimes necessary, to quantify a maximum or optimum level of usage or scale of
additional development. Such numbers can be used, for example, as the basis for
measures to regulate, or otherwise maintain a control on visitor ows in congested
places, or to guide planning decisions about the number of accommodation units that
may be acceptable in an area. Rather than reject the idea of quantication on account
of the above weaknesses, a realistic approach should be adopted. This might entail:
Recognizing the inevitable subjectivity of any assessment, therefore using
relatively simple approaches to estimate some sensible limits based on the
dierent components of capacity identied above. Estimates can be made through
close observation of sites, surveys, consultation, etc.
Using these estimates to stimulate debate and discussion.
Avoiding applying measures appropriate to one area to other areas that may not
be comparable.
Identifying ranges rather than precise numbers.
Being exible about the capacity limit and being prepared to make adjustments in
the light of experience.
It should also be accepted that the overall concept of carrying capacity is important
and can be the subject of valuable study to guide policies, even if a quantied capacity
limit is not actually identied. Carrying capacity studies, which have looked in detail
at economic, social and environmental capacity issues, have proved very useful in a
number of countries (see Box 5.3), although they have sometimes not been as clearly
reected in subsequent policies and plans as might be expected.
Limits of Acceptable Change
The problems associated with quantication of carrying capacity have led to the use
of alternative approaches to recognizing limits to tourism. The Limits of Acceptable
Change (LAC) concept recognizes that it is the level of undesirable impact (or
change) that is the problem, rather than the quantity of activity per se, and limits
should therefore be described in terms of impact. The process entails:
Identication of impacts that should limit development or use.
Identication of usable indicators related to these impacts (see Section 5.1.1).
Identication of a range of values associated with these indicators that are considered
to be acceptable or unacceptable (based on expert evidence, consultation, etc.).
Maintaining a monitoring process to check that performance remains within the
acceptable range.
Taking management steps to adjust levels of use if limits are exceeded.
76
The LAC approach has the advantage of being exible and based on a real assessment
of impacts of concern. However, it may sometimes be dicult to rectify problems by
making adjustments only after they have occurred.
Instruments
In Malta, a small island state with 380 000 inhabitants, tourism accounts for a
very signicant proportion of employment and gross national product. In the late
1990s the government recognized a danger of unplanned tourism development
leading to poor quality and a spiral of degradation. It, therefore, instigated a study
of tourism carrying capacity.
Comprehensive data gathering and consultation over two years involved surveys
of visitors and residents, aerial surveys of beaches, and analysis of existing data on
the state of the environment and the economic contribution of tourism. A study
group was established, with representatives of dierent interests.
Possible scenarios for future development were considered: free development;
planned intensive development; sustainable development; restricted up-market
tourism; or no tourism. The sustainable development approach was agreed upon,
maintaining signicant levels of tourism but within recognized limits.
A wide range of factors were analysed to identify those most critical in
determining future rates of growth. These were found to be: a need to maintain
tourism as a critical source of foreign exchange earnings; avoiding excess supply
of accommodation leading to poor performance and quality; saturation in
summer aecting visitor satisfaction and societys tolerance; scarce land resources;
and use of energy.
It was recognized that to establish carrying capacity a quantiable starting point
was needed. This was taken as the supply of bedstock. It was calculated that
this should stay at current levels (41 000) in order to achieve viable occupancy
rates, rather than the considerable expansion that was then on the table. At
the same time, a set of policies was widely agreed to improve the returns from
tourism within these volume limits, including increasing per capita expenditure,
strengthening the o-season, and promoting resource eciency. This had
implications for selection of relevant target markets and improving the quality of
the oer.
The carrying capacity assessment and the clear policy direction that resulted from
it has remained the cornerstone of Maltas tourism strategy, and is now used as
justication for the application of European Structural Funds to improve the
quality rather than the quantity of tourism facilities and the conservation and
interpretation of the islands heritage.
77
Instruments
78
5
Instruments
79
new tourism laws and reected in the balance and wording of dierent articles. This
could include an emphasis on supporting communities, protecting natural resources, etc.
Instruments
Tourism laws can also provide the basis for enabling the control and licensing of
activities specic to the tourism sector (such as hotels) and for the undertaking of
certain actions to support tourism development (e.g. provision of nancial assistance)
(see Box 5.5)
Box 5.5: Drafting a tourism law for Vietnam
In 2003, the Vietnamese government decided that a new tourism law was needed in
the face of a rapid growth in the numbers of international and domestic visitors and
concerns about the sustainable management of the countrys tourism resources. Such
a tourism law would raise the standing of tourism amongst all relevant government
ministries and other stakeholders, strengthening coordination between them.
Drafting the law involved collaboration between the Vietnam National
Administration of Tourism (VNAT), the WTO (which supplied technical expertise),
and the Netherlands Development Organization (SNV), which facilitated the
process and helped to integrate it with wider sustainable development issues.
Regional study tours and workshops were conducted for the Tourism Law Drafting
Committee, including representatives of the VNAT and other important ministries.
This enabled them to cement their own working relationship and also to meet local
government bodies, participants in community-based tourism initiatives, tourism
training institutions, tour operators and tourism service providers. The purpose was to:
Ensure that the new law reected the local reality of provision for tourism and
management.
Seek ideas and informed criticism.
Avoid any allegations of imposed, ill-informed legislation.
Strengthen the chances of eective implementation and enforcement.
It was found that this opportunity to participate motivated all ministries and
stakeholder groups to provide highly constructive input.
The new draft tourism law underpins sustainability in many ways. For example, the
general provisions and specic articles clearly recognize:
The role of tourism in socio-economic restructuring, generating employment,
eliminating hunger and reducing poverty.
The importance of local communities as beneciaries and stakeholders.
A responsibility placed on all stakeholders, including local communities and
peoples committees, to protect the environment and landscapes at tourism sites.
Specic obligations placed on tourism businesses regarding stewardship of
tourism resources, including facilitating research and conservation.
The role of the state in providing relevant investment incentives for tourism
development in disadvantaged regions and for the restoration of natural and
cultural sites and for traditional festivals and handicrafts.
80
5
Instruments
In principle, the legislation needed to control many aspects of the impacts of tourism
will be contained in laws relevant to specic elds (e.g. environmental management
or employment legislation) rather than in tourism law. However, links should be
identied between tourism law and these other areas.
A process of harmonization and synchronization can be valuable. It should:
Cover the ways in which relevant legislative requirements do, or should, relate to
laws specic to tourism.
Identify other laws that contain legislation relevant to the sustainability of tourism.
Seek to minimize any conict between dierent areas of legislation.
Ensure that there is no confusing duplication between the powers and
responsibilities of dierent agencies in this matter.
Assemble information on all relevant legislation so that this can be clearly
disseminated to the industry and other aected stakeholders (see below).
The application of specic regulations
In addition to the fundamental aspects of sustainability of tourism listed earlier
which require legislation and regulations applied to all forms of tourism within a
countryit may be necessary to apply specic regulations to certain forms of tourism
or in particular circumstances. These may relate to:
Particularly sensitive environments (e.g. protected areas, or particular types of
ecosystem such as coral reefs).
Especially vulnerable communities (e.g. certain indigenous communities).
Particular types of activity. This could include certain outdoor sports, such as
diving, that may be potentially dangerous to participants and/or damaging to the
environment.
Regulations may also be needed to control the number and frequency of certain
activities which through their concentration in space and time have a high impact on
communities. An example is the arrival of cruise ships.
In Calvia,
regulations
concerning
anchoring and mooring
were introduced to limit
anchor damage and
harbour congestion (see
Case Studies, p 167).
Regulations could cover many issues, but typically might relate to:
In Ghana,
simple byelaws were
used to control access and
activities in heritage sites
providing the focal point
for community-based
tourism (see Case Studies,
p 149).
81
Licensing
5
Instruments
In Australia,
tourism
enterprises
need a permit to operate
in protected areas. This
provides a basis for
agreeing conditions
with them, and is also
linked to other tools
such as guidelines
and certication to
further strengthen
the sustainability of
operations (see Case
Studies, p 130).
In South Africa
many tourism
enterprises
were not meeting the
requirements of the Black
Economic Empowerment
Act, so targets were set
for the industry (see Case
Studies, p 162).
One form of licensing is the issuing of permits to operate in certain areas, such
as protected areas. This has proved to be an important tool for strengthening
sustainability, as stringent conditions appropriate to a given set of local
circumstances may not be suitable in other situations where more general licensing
would be appropriate.
Strengthening compliance
A major problem with using legislation and regulations as a way of improving
sustainability is the diculty of enforcement and of overcoming non-compliance.
This is a fundamental issue both in developed and developing countries. Ways in
which it can be addressed include:
Linking regulations to licensing, and issuing the licence in the form of a badge
that tourists are asked to look out for.
Stimulating peer pressure amongst operators.
Setting targets for implementation and getting operators to report against them.
Streamlining inspection schemes, so that one inspector can cover various
legislative requirements.
Providing simple information to operators about the regulations they have to
meet and what compliance means in practice.
Box 5.6 gives an example of the latter two approaches used in England in relation to
provision of accommodation.
5.2.2 Land use planning and development control
These inter-related tools can be used to inuence the location and type of new
tourism activities and to control potentially harmful development.
The importance of land use planning and development control
These are, arguably, the instruments that have provided the primary means of
intervention by governments in shaping the nature of development on behalf of society.
82
Instruments
In England, the tourist authorities have taken a number of steps to address noncompliance with regulations in the accommodation sector and to make it easier for
enterprises to understand the legal requirements they have to meet.
The Fitness for Purpose initiative has involved systematic inspection of
establishments in six pilot areas to check compliance with respect to food hygiene,
health and safety, re safety and trading standards legislation. Consideration has been
given to ways of coordinating inspection processes to make them more ecient both
for the industry and for the enforcement bodies.
The national tourist authority has produced a Pink Booklet as a practical guide
to legislation for accommodation providers. The booklet identies the relevant
legislation under dierent subject headings, spelling out in simple language the
circumstances under which it applies, what actions are necessary to meet the
requirements, and sources of further information and help.
Land use planning and development control are critically important for the
sustainability of tourism, inuencing not only tourism development itself but also
controlling other forms of development that might be detrimental to the economic
sustainability of tourism in the short or long term. At the time when local land
use plans are being agreed, or more specically when decisions are being made to
approve or refuse controversial developments (such as industrial plant, mining or
timber extraction), economic arguments relating to tourism can be used to advocate
environmental conservation.
The potential strength of these tools, and the way in which they can be applied,
will vary from country to country according to the nature and functionality of the
land use planning system that is in place. This partly reects political circumstances,
legislative frameworks, levels of corruption, and administrative eciency. The
nature of landownership is also a critical question. In some countries where there
is widespread government ownership of land, development control may be brought
about more directly through the issuing of leases, permits and licenses. However, the
fundamental principles behind sustainable land use planning for tourism still remain.
The outreach of land use planning is also very important. In some countries planning
control is applied to all areas. In other countries, this may, essentially, be restricted to
urban settlements or designated protected areas. In general, the greater the coverage
of a sound land use planning system and eective development control, the stronger
the chances of achieving more sustainable tourism.
Relating tourism strategies to spatial and land use plans
In the past, tourism planning tended to be executed through the preparation of somewhat
rigid and top-down master plans, which indicated locations and sites for tourism
development based principally on physical attributes of the land and location with
respect to potential visitor ows and accessibility. Sustainability principles point to a more
83
strategic, exible, bottom-up approach, taking account of a wide range of economic, social
and environmental factors and based on local consultation and participation.
Instruments
The approach advocated for tourism is in line with the advent of integrated spatial
planning at a regional level and community-based planning at a local level, which is
being pursued in many countries, and tourism planning should align with this.
Tourism strategies built on participatory structures and inclusive processes should
provide the basis for tourism planning. Planning should also mirror the preparation
of tourism strategies at the national, regional and local destination levels emphasized
in Chapter 3. This can be achieved by two interrelated processes:
In Calvia,
the land use
planning
tool was used eectively
to implement a local
sustainable development
strategy, centred on
tourism. This led to
the declassication
of land scheduled for
new accommodation
development in the
interest of greater
amenity for residents
and visitors and a more
sustainable future (see
Case Studies, p 167).
84
Instruments
Placing land use planning for tourism within the context of more strategic spatial
planning and with participatory processes at a local level is in line with certain
other directions that have been taken in the sustainable planning and management
of resources. There are some types of location that, because of their special
circumstances, require an even more closely integrated approachcoastal areas being
the most notable example.
Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) is a process that brings together
all those involved in the development, management and use of the coast within
a framework that facilitates the integration of their interests and responsibilities.
As tourism is often a major activity in coastal areas, it is clearly very important
that tourism strategies, polices and plans are incorporated in the ICZM processes.
Although this has a bearing on the wider coordination of organizations, strategies
and policies in coastal areas, it is a particularly important issue with respect to
land use planning, given the impact of new development on marine and coastal
environments and communities2.
Zoning for tourism development
One approach to land use planning at a local level is to identify a series of zones
for dierent types and levels of tourism development. Zoning may be more or less
appropriate as a tool according to the nature of the area, the landownership and
85
Instruments
86
also of ensuring that the resulting development will match a clear pre-determined
style and design. Using such a tool allows sustainability related requirements to be
incorporated in more specic detail.
Instruments
Some governments or local authorities have prepared design guidelines for specic
types of tourism facility. While these may be less rigorous than regulations,
enterprises may be encouraged to follow them because they can assist in the process
of obtaining planning permission.
Development control processes
If land use planning is to be eective, it is necessary to have a development control
process that ensures compliance with land use planning regulations and prevents illegal
development. There are many reasons why development control may be dysfunctional
(see Box 5.9), some of which may be deep seated and require signicant political
change. However, functionality in terms of tourism planning may be facilitated by:
Greater availability of human resources to handle applications.
Capacity building with local administrations to increase knowledge of sustainable
tourism issues.
Clear notication requirements for potential developers, including both
procedures to adopt and information to deliver.
Enforcement of penalties for non-compliance, including nancial penalties,
criminal prosecution and removal of illegal structures.
Development control depends on potential developers being required to apply for
planning approval. The notication procedure and the degree of detail required from
developers prior to approval are determined by governments or local authorities, who
Box 5.9: Practical problems of implementation in Colombia
A pilot project to demonstrate the application of the CBDs Guidelines on
Biodiversity and Tourism Development was undertaken in Colombia in 2002. This
looked at the context and reality of tourism development in Tayrona National Park,
an attractive, protected coastal area with many ne beaches. The study concluded that
a general framework of legislation, planning and development control procedures
existed and was relevant. However, there were problems in ensuring eective
enforcement, including:
Limitations of the administration and the shortage of human and nancial resources.
Overlap of powers and authority between dierent institutions, causing
duplication of eort or even leading to lack of action by any of the institutions.
An unclear situation as to land ownership, making it dicult for the park to reach
management agreements with land owners and occupiers of land within the park,
and to enforce legal controls over tourism development on private land within the
park boundaries.
The continuation of some tourism projects which had failed to comply with
legal requirements, consequently undermining the image and position of the
institutions in exercising development control.
87
Instruments
A further useful mechanism associated with the development control process is the
issuing of conditions attached to the granting of individual planning permission. This
could be used to:
Strengthen or improve certain aspects of the impact of the project itself, as
proposed (e.g. design factors, landscaping, or access).
Achieve some external benets for the community or for environmental
conservation through the process of planning gain (planning obligations). This
could include, for example, the inclusion of provision of services for community
use, replanting schemes, or the creation of trails or other infrastructure.
Any conditions or obligations that are imposed should be fair and realistic, and not
be so onerous as to prevent implementation and the achievement of mutual benet.
Environmental Impact Assessment
The sustainability of tourism development can be further strengthened by more
extensive and eective use of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) as a
requirement placed on developers.
EIA provides an internationally recognized and structured approach to obtaining
and evaluating environmental information about the potential impacts of a physical
development; the EIA is then used in decision-making in the development process.
It is particularly useful as an adjunct to the process of granting planning permission
for new development, and may be required of a potential developer in order to aid
decision making. A particular strength of EIAs is the requirement to account for all
stages and processes of a proposed development, including upstream and downstream
impacts. There is also a requirement to consider alternative proposals that may lead to
less harmful impact or provide greater opportunity for benet.
In many countries, use of EIA is required by law in situations where proposed
development-related actions are expected to be environmentally damaging, but its
application to tourism varies around the world. There is a lack of consistency in the
selection of developments for which specic EIA studies are required. Whether
or not an EIA is required is likely to depend on the size and nature of the project,
the sensitivity of the location in which it is proposed, and the perceived risk to the
environment. Small scale projects are not included in most EIA systems although
their cumulative impacts may be signicant over time.
The close relationship between social and environmental systems makes it imperative
that social impacts are identied, predicted and evaluated in conjunction with
88
5
Instruments
Egypt provides
an example
of how sloppy
procedures prevented
EIAs from providing
an eective control
mechanism, and of how
this can be rectied
through clearer guidance
and coordination (see
Case Studies, p 144).
89
Taxes and charges are important instruments in the process of internalizing the total
costs, including environmental and social costs, of activities like tourism. Depending
on the way they are directed, they can support adherence to the polluter pays principle.
Instruments
The main ways in which governments can use these measures are by:
Setting charges for the use of resources or services which they control, such as
public utilities and amenities.
Introducing general or more specic taxes on activities that aect the operation of
tourism enterprises and the behaviour of tourists.
An individual tax or charge may inuence the behaviour of enterprises or tourists
or both. This may depend partly on the response of enterprises and whether they
absorb the eect or pass it on to consumers through higher prices. Irrespective of
who is aected by the tax or charge, good communication about the measure, the
reasons for it and the resulting benets is very important in winning support and
maximizing compliance.
Dierent types of taxes and charges that have a particular bearing on tourism are
described below.
General business taxes
One way in which taxation is likely to aect the sustainability of tourism is through
the general impact of the scal system on the performance of tourism businesses.
Governments should ensure that corporate taxation does not discriminate unfairly
against small service sector businesses. They should also take account of how taxation
policy may aect the full range of economic, social and environmental issues relating
to the particular circumstances of the sector, such as impacts on seasonal jobs and
opportunities for micro enterprises and employees to engage in a variety of activities.
General tourist taxes
In Bulgaria
the law
relating to local
government nancing
has been changed so that
revenue from tourism
taxes remains in the
municipality and has to
be used for tourism related
infrastructure (see Case
Studies, p 135).
90
A number of countries have introduced taxes on tourism in the form of a tax paid per
visitor, often raised per overnight stay as a bed tax. This is most usually collected from
tourism enterprises, and may or may not be passed on by them to tourists. Normally
it is not seen as a way of inuencing visitor numbers but rather as a process for
raising revenue. Signicant sums can be raised in this way, but it can lead to industry
concerns about the negative eect on demand and on enterprise protability. A key
issue for sustainability is the extent to which the proceeds are retained locally and used
to support destination management, environmental conservation and social causes.
Taxes of this kind can be introduced specically for the purpose of beneting the
destination and sustainability. However, even if they are presented in this way they
can prove to be controversial, as was well demonstrated by the Balearics ecotax
described in Box 5.10
The successful introduction of such taxes may be more dicult if it is seen by business
as adding to their existing tax burden. A more successful approach may be to direct
Instruments
In 2002 the government of the Balearic Islands, Spain, introduced a tax with
the clear objective of raising funds from tourists to be invested in environmental
protection and improvement in amenity in tourist areas. The purpose for which the
proceeds could be used was enshrined in law. The tax was not seen as a controlling
measure, but more as a source of additional revenue to support public expenditure. It
was considered as one tool in shifting the direction of tourism in the islands towards
sustainability and quality. Examples of projects supported include the purchase and
improvement of a natural coastal area for public use, removal of unsightly old hotel
buildings, and nancial assistance to farmers to plant trees.
The tax involved a at rate charge averaging around 1 euro per night per adult
tourist, collected by hoteliers. In the rst year approximately 4.5 million were raised.
Although many tourists and local residents were in favour of the tax, hoteliers and
tour operators were very opposed to it. It was considered to be unfairly applied (it did
not reach the many tourists staying in self-catering or unregistered accommodation),
and was assumed to be one reason for a downturn in demand for the Balearics in the
year it was introduced. There was also some uncertainty about how the money was
spent and the transparency of this process. The new incoming government abolished
the tax after one and a half years of operation.
There was a erce debate about the merits of the tax. Some felt that the long term
competitiveness of the islands would have gained from the improvements funded by
the tax, despite negative short term reactions. Whatever the merits of it, however, the
experience pointed to the need to make sure that the industry is fully supportive of
such a process, especially if it is engaged in its implementation, that it is seen to be
fair, and that it is positively promoted as a measure seeking to bring benets to all.
such a charge at visitors, as is the case in Belize (see Box 5.11), which is essentially a
hypothecated exit tax. Any tax of this kind needs to be fairly and evenly applied, easy
to collect, and fully discussed and supported by all those involved, including the travel
trade. The utilization of the tax needs to be completely transparent and made widely
known to those who are paying it.
Taxes and charges on specic inputs and outputs
A range of taxes and charges can be used to inuence the use of resources by the
tourism industry and tourists. Examples include:
Euent charges to encourage the reduction of emissions through end-of-pipe
measures.
Waste taxes to make nal waste disposal more expensive, promoting reduction
and recycling.
Product taxes on items such as energy and packaging that have an environmental
impact in production, consumption or disposal (e.g. carbon taxes on the use of
certain fuels).
User charges for use of precious resources such as water.
91
In most countries taxes and charges of this kind are applied generally in order to
inuence the activities of all businesses. It is unlikely that the tourism industry will be
singled out for special treatment. However, changes in behaviour on account of these
measures will aect the impact of the industry, particularly in places where tourism
has traditionally contributed to environmental or social impacts.
Instruments
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Instruments
Belize: In 1996, the Protected Areas Conservation Trust (PACT) was established,
to provide funding for the conservation, awareness, sustainable development and
management of protected areas. In excess of US$1.75 million have been disbursed
(19972004) through more than 70 grants to over 30 organizations. Funds are raised
by a compulsory US$3.75 conservation fee charged to visitors on their departure
from Belize. PACT also receives 20 per cent of the cruise ship passenger head tax and
of the recreational licence and concession fees in protected areas. Corporations and
individuals also donate voluntarily to PACT.
Madagascar: The government national park service has a policy of distributing 50 per
cent of the admission revenue from all parks to local conservation and community
development projects. The latter, proposed by special committees made up of elders
from individual villages, tend to be very practical (such as fruit growing schemes,
bee keeping, construction of grain stores) supporting sustainable livelihoods as
an alternative to slash and burn agriculture. The funding link with the local park
enhances community awareness and support for conservation.
Performance bonds may be required of developers, in the form of a payment
returned to them later providing certain conditions are met. An example most
relevant to tourism is the use of a performance bond to ensure that reforestation
is carried out following a development project that has required clearance of
areas of forest.
Deposit/refund charges might, typically, be applied to packaging such as glass or
plastic bottles to stimulate reuse or enable controlled disposal.
5.3.2 Financial incentives and agreements
These are economic instruments that inuence the behaviour of enterprises by
providing them with specic nancial support or commercial opportunities provided
that they act in a certain way.
Government action may involve:
Providing nancial support and opportunities themselves.
Inuencing and working with development assistance agencies whose policies in
recipient countries are increasingly inuenced through priorities and programmes
agreed with governments.
Inuencing the nancial decision making policies and actions of commercial
sources of nance.
Positive nancial incentives
Various forms of nancial assistance can be used to inuence behaviour and support
change. They can be directed at existing tourism enterprises or new projects.
Where positive subsidy is used, principles of economic sustainability suggest that the
type and amount of assistance should be such that it encourages and supports selfsucient enterprise and avoids dependency.
93
Three ways in which nancial assistance can be used to eect change are:
Instruments
In one region
of Scotland, all
tourism projects
receiving assistance
from the development
agency must participate
in an environmental
certication scheme. (see
Case Studies, p 172).
In Ghana,
nancial
assistance is
available to community
tourism projects that meet
specic sustainability
criteria. In order to avoid
dependency and encourage
enterprise eciency,
grants are given only
for infrastructure, with
enterprise support being
in the form of loans (see
Case Studies, p 149)
In South
Africa, the
government
has established conditions
and guidelines for the
operation of publicprivate partnerships
on state land, and has
disseminated these in the
form of a toolkit (see Case
Studies, p 162)
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5
Instruments
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5
Instruments
Codes and guidelines are written statements that set out clearly the actions that are
or are not appropriate or acceptable in particular circumstances. Codes and guidelines
can be used to:
Exercise control, encouraging everyone to abide by a common approach.
Give helpful guidance and improve performance, providing a checklist of actions
to follow to achieve objectives. However, they are dierent from training manuals,
which tend to be more elaborate (see Section 5.5.2).
They may be reproduced or disseminated in the form of short documents, presented
on websites, displayed on notices and promoted through relevant media. Awareness
of codes and encouragement to use them may be best achieved by word of mouth and
direct distribution to intended users.
The term code is usually applied to short lists of dos and donts, often written as a
clear statement which stakeholders can sign up to more or less formally. A guideline
is more likely to be a longer and more detailed statement, containing more advice
and information on how to take appropriate action. Codes and guidelines can be
complementary, with the latter providing detail on how to comply with the former.
Codes can refer to initiatives of more formal frameworks, such as the Global Code
of Ethics for Tourism, approved by the General Assembly of WTO and of the
United Nations4.
The advantages of codes and guidelines are that they are direct, simple and may be
developed and used at little cost. The disadvantage is that they rely on voluntary
action and there may be no in-built process of checking or enforcement.
It may be more appropriate to use codes and guidelines rather than regulations where:
Regulations are dicult to disseminate and compliance cannot be controlled.
The consequences of certain actions may be less serious.
It is important or helpful to communicate positive actions to pursue, as well as
negative actions to control.
There are stakeholder groups with whom guidelines and codes can be developed
and who promote compliance.
There are many examples of codes and guidelines relating to tourism sustainability,
international, national, local and at site level. They may be aimed at policy makers,
tourism enterprises, and visitors, or a combination of them and may be produced
by international agencies, governments, management bodies such as national park
authorities, and NGOs.
Codes and guidelines may also be produced by associations of enterprises or other
stakeholders, as a way of promoting good practice within a group, seeking common
standards and demonstrating this to others. In this way, they form a very useful tool
for self-regulation within the tourism sector.
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Instruments
Codes may be more or less formal, depending on circumstances. In some cases it may
be appropriate for them to be backed up by an agreement of adherence. They can be
used as the basis for other instruments, such as reporting and certication (see below)
which will make them more eective.
In some circumstances, codes and regulations may be used together. Codes may cover
a wider set of desired actions, but with the most important requirements being backed
by legislation and regulations, which are then referred to in the codes and guidelines.
Codes relating to certain activities can be strengthened if they are supported and
promoted by a range of organizations working together and applied in dierent
countries through international cooperation. An important example is the code
relating to combating child sex tourism (see Box 5.13).
The following subsections extend discussion of codes and guidelines and look at ways
in which they can be applied.
Policy guidelines
It is important that all stakeholders are aware of policies that relate to the
sustainability of tourism, and the implications of those policies for action. The
Box 5.13: A clear code with international backing
The Code of Conduct for the Protection of Children from Sexual Exploitation
in Travel and Tourism is an example of a short and clearly worded code that was
developed by an NGO and now has international backing from UNICEF, the WTO
and a range of tourism industry organizations. The code is also supported and promoted
by government bodies, such as the Tourism Authority of Thailand. Associated actions
have been developed around the code, including training and publicity.
The Code, aimed at suppliers of tourism services, has just six elements:
1. To establish an ethical policy regarding the commercial exploitation of children.
2. To train the personnel in the country of origin and travel destinations.
3. To introduce a clause in contracts with suppliers, stating a common repudiation of
commercial sexual exploitation of children.
4. To provide information to travellers by means of catalogues, brochures, in-ight
lms, ticket-slips, home pages, etc.
5. To provide information to local key persons at the destinations.
6. To report annually.
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Instruments
The Responsible
Tourism
Guidelines
produced in South Africa
provide a particularly
good example of a
guidelines document.
Produced in booklet
format and circulated
widely, they set out
statements of principle
relating to economic,
social and environmental
sustainability, around
which more detailed
policies and actions should
be developed. They have
subsequently been reected
in the policies of a number
of provincial authorities
and have been taken up
by at least one of the main
banks where they have
been used as the basis
for criteria for funding.
The guidelines have also
been used to prepare an
advisory manual for
private enterprises (see
Case Studies, p 162).
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5
Instruments
In Scotland,
the government
conservation
agency has been charged
by law to draw up a
Scottish Marine Wildlife
Watching Code which
must include guidelines on
activities that are likely to
disturb marine wildlife,
circumstances in which
marine wildlife may
be approached and the
manner in which species
can best be viewed with
minimum disturbance
(see Case Studies, p 172).
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5
Instruments
Across the world, there is interest in enlarging the scope of conventional corporate
nancial reporting to include non-nancial information. The growth in private
sector reporting has been driven by the industry itself, and there are many voluntary
reporting initiatives. The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) provides a set of
reporting guidelines and sustainability performance indicators, to be used in an
entirely voluntary capacity, that capture an emerging consensus on reporting practices
and attempt to bring some consistency to reporting. GRI Guidelines are intended to
be applicable to organizations of all sizes and types, operating in any location.
A number of supplements to the GRI have been developed to capture the dierent
sustainability issues faced by various industry sectors. Issues relating to tour operating
are contained in a GRI supplement issued by the Tour Operators Initiative, backed
by UNEP and the WTO. Other sector groups, such as representatives of the hotels
sector, have also addressed reporting requirements.
Auditing activity for sustainability
Reporting may or may not be linked to an auditing process. An audit can be carried
out on any organization or enterprise that has stated policies and a programme
for improving sustainable performance. An audit is a systematic evaluation of the
organizations systems and actions, in order to see if it is doing what it says it will do.
It can be carried out by self assessment, by the use of an independent auditor or by a
third party verier. Once an environmental management system has been established,
it can be audited on a periodic basis to ensure that it is working properly and that it is
doing what it should.
Auditing can be used as an internal management tool to improve performance in the
tourism industry or to verify compliance with legal requirements. Due diligence is
essentially a compliance audit to test whether an organization has consistently met its
legal obligations. Such an audit should trigger action or corrective measures.
An audit can also be required by a third party, to verify compliance with conditions
that may have been attached to nancial support or permissions. Annual monitoring
reports may cover ongoing performance of project-specic environmental, health
and safety and social activities, reected in the results of periodic and quantitative
sampling and measuring programmes.
How governments can promote reporting and auditing
There are a number of ways in which governments can strengthen the use of
reporting and auditing as a tool in making tourism more sustainable. These include:
Governments undertaking auditing and reporting on their own activities,
including that of their agencies. This can be valuable not only in the review and
adaptation of their own policies and actions, but also by setting an example to
others in the tourism sector.
Reporting more widely on the state of the sector. The performance reporting
arrangements of tourism ministries or local government can be developed to
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5
Instruments
101
5
Instruments
102
involved in the process if these conditions are to be met. In others it may be best to
use an external agency recognized by government.
Instruments
A number
of the Case
Studies include
certication schemes
for tourism enterprises
pursuing sustainability.
The Costa Rica scheme, for
example, sees advantages
from being government
led, and government
support has been vital in
Scotland and Australia.
(see Case Studies, p 167,
p 172 & p 130).
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5
Instruments
104
The Scottish
Green Tourism
Business
Scheme has clearly shown
the advantage of a
separate eco-certication
scheme but having this
promoted closely alongside
the national quality
grading scheme as an
additional option (p 172).
In Australia,
consideration
is being
given to including the
ecocertication scheme
within a suite of
certication programmes
accredited and ocially
supported by government
(see Case Studies, p 130).
In Scotland,
certifying
Tourist
Information Centres has
generated new interest
amongst enterprises (see
Case Studies, p 172).
In Australia,
Ecocertication
has been
used by some states
as a requirement for
enterprises to be given
preferential treatment
and extended concessions
to operate in parks (see
Case Studies, p 130).
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5
Instruments
5
Instruments
In Kaikoura,
New Zealand,
a certication
programme has helped
to stimulate interest and
focus attention within
the community on better
management of resources
(see Case Studies, p 157).
In a few locations across the world, sustainability certication has been awarded to
entire destinations. Such schemes take account of the way the whole destination is
managed, in terms of sustainability policies, resource eciency, pollution control,
social services, etc., as well as taking account of the environmental management
processes of the tourism sector. The merits of certication for entire communities
have been the subject of considerable debate, partly due to the diculties and costs of
acquiring meaningful and comprehensive data.
5.4.4 Voluntary contributions
There is increasing evidence that tourists and the tourism industry are prepared to
provide voluntary support for environmental conservation and the wellbeing of local
communities in destinations. A number of studies have identied that tourists are
willing to pay for such outcomes, provided that local benets can be clearly identied.
Box 5.17: VISITa family of European ecolabels
The VISIT initiative, funded by the European Union, links 12 separate eco-labelling
schemes for tourism enterprises, from Austria, Denmark, France, Italy, Latvia,
Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland and the Nordic countries. The
purpose of the initiative is to improve sustainability of European tourism by raising
the prole and performance of the labels and to raise awareness of certied products.
Each of the labels concentrates on the environmental impacts of the establishments
(mainly accommodation). A common standard has been agreed for the labels. This
includes: external verication at least once every three years; a requirement that all
enterprises meet national legislation; the inclusion of a set of basic performance
requirements; a requirement that enterprises regularly monitor consumption of
energy and water and creation of waste per overnight guest; common management
criteria, including relevant sta training; and issues concerning transparency and
promotion of the schemes.
Promotional activity has included the creation of a VISIT Holiday Guide, on paper
and on the Internet, which features the participating labels and the individually
certied products. Links with tour operators have also been developed, encouraging
them to feature the products.
A VISIT Association has been established to promote the interests of members and
encourage new participants. Services will include market research and performance
benchmarking between the labels.
106
Many tourism enterprises are taking direct supportive action, or are prepared to do so,
as part of their corporate social responsibility.
Instruments
Although this is primarily a matter for individual and private sector response,
governments can play a valuable role in encouraging and enabling the provision of
voluntary contributions, by:
Establishing, supporting and promoting relevant schemes. This may entail
coordinating the activities of enterprises and tourists, as in the Lake District example
in Box 5.19, page 108.
Providing nancial incentives, such as tax credits, to enterprises that make contributions.
Voluntary contributions and actions can centre around providing monetary support
or may involve the provision of assistance in kind. Voluntary contributions have the
advantage of being based on goodwill, commitment and active participation, although
they are unlikely to raise as much revenue as compulsory charges.
Examples of schemes involving tourists directly include:
Tourists being invited to make cash donations to local projects, which can vary
from small sums to substantial amounts.
Box 5.18: Certication for beaches and marinas
The Blue Flag award for beaches and marinas, run by the Foundation for
Environmental Education, has been operational since 1985. In 2004, 2 938 beaches
and marinas were granted the Blue Flag in 29 countries across Europe, the Caribbean
and South Africa. Criteria include:
Water quality, including compliance with bathing water standards.
Environmental education and information, including procedures for notifying
users about the water quality and the provision of environmental interpretation.
Environmental management, including a land use and development plan for the
coastal zone, as well as beach cleaning and management processes.
Safety and services, including guards or relevant equipment, access to telephone, etc.
The scheme has been successfully expanded over the years and has led to
improvements in the provision of relevant facilities and procedures. Strengths of the
scheme include: meaningful and practical requirements that are clearly relevant not
only to the environment but also to the quality and safety of the visitor experience;
strong branding (the blue ag itself ); combination of management and information/
education requirements; requirement for strong practical engagement by local
authorities and communities; and integration with coastal management. Destinations
have been able to see the advantages both in terms of improved amenity and visitor
response, and many have used the award actively to promote a strong environmental
image. The ag is re-awarded each season, or not, after the annual assessment.
The role of government (especially local authorities at the destination level) in
backing and promoting the scheme has been very important to its success.
107
Instruments
Tourism enterprises can provide nance or help in kind to local conservation and
social projects. There are many examples where support has been given to projects
such as a local nature reserve, community group, health service or school. As well
as being of considerable benet to the recipients, enterprises can often benet from
the goodwill this generates towards them from their customers. Assistance can be
provided by direct involvement or by establishing or contributing to a trust fund. It
can be particularly benecial if tourism enterprises are able to build up a supportive
relationship with neighbouring communities that can be maintained over time.
Box 5.19: A structured scheme for raising voluntary contributions
In the Lake District National Park, in England, a public/private partnership
involving the National Trust (an NGO), the National Park Authority and the
Regional Tourist Board has been established as a vehicle for raising voluntary
contributions. The Lake District Tourism and Conservation Partnership includes
around 180 tourism businesses in its membership. Members raise money for
conservation (e.g. maintenance of paths and landscape features) by inviting voluntary
contributions from guests. This may be via a small, optional supplement on bills, or
through simply inviting donations. Beneciary projects are often specic to each
member, thus strengthening individual commitment to them. Annual revenue raised
is around US$300 000.
108
importance for the successful functioning of the tourism sector. Provision is crucial
to the economic sustainability of tourism. The level and quality of provision is also
crucial to issues of social and environmental sustainability. The provision of these
services also forms a key part of the enabling environment, created by government,
for a more sustainable tourism industry.
Instruments
109
Being prepared to limit the capacity of roads and car parks as a control measure to
discourage excessive car use.
Developing park and ride schemes in popular tourist areas.
Developing dedicated walking and cycling trails for use by tourists.
Extending pedestrian areas in towns and cities.
Introducing trac calming measures and lane systems that favour public transport.
Measures to reduce noise pollution from roads, airports, etc.
Careful planning of signposting as an eective tool in trac and visitor
management, while avoiding unsightly and confusing clutter.
Instruments
110
Instruments
The innovative
waste
management
programme in Kaikoura,
New Zealand,
undertaken by the local
authority in partnership
with a community body,
provides a good example
of the provision of a
conservation minded
waste handling service
together with the creative
reuse of waste (see Case
Studies, p 157).
111
their ability to respond to visitors needs. Some destinations have dedicated tourist
assistance schemes and help lines. Specic tourist police units have been established
in some countries.
Instruments
Systems for dealing with emergency situations such as health scares, terrorism and
natural and industrial disasters, including response to early warnings, should be well
rehearsed. This includes the provision of evacuation plans where necessary.
5.5.2 Capacity building
Capacity building is about developing the potential and ability of stakeholders
to make and implement decisions that will lead to more sustainable tourism, by
increasing their understanding, knowledge, condence and skills.
The advantages and role of capacity building
There are many advantages to using capacity building as an instrument to strengthen
the sustainability of tourism. Capacity building is direct and precise, and can be
targeted at stakeholders or situations where change is needed or where it is felt that
particular success may be achieved. It has the advantage of being a process which
is likely to spread commitment to sustainability within the tourism sector, and so
can secure long term benet. It is also a exible instrument that can be altered at
any time. Capacity building can, however, be time consuming and require skilled
personnel to carry it out. A particular challenge is securing the participation of
tourism enterprises in the process.
Capacity building is particularly important in strengthening the eectiveness of the
other tools presented in this document, such as economic instruments, certication
and planning regulations, by alerting people to them and assisting with compliance.
Box 5.21: Working together on waste
In the coastal resort of Side, Turkey, a workshop organized by the Tour
Operators Initiative and involving the local government, NGOs and private
sector representatives, identied waste management as an urgent priority for the
sustainability of tourism in the area.
Activities carried out by the municipality in conjunction with the tourism association,
assisted by UNEP and others, included the introduction of:
A waste separation scheme, involving pick-ups from hotels and other companies.
A collection scheme for used batteries.
Waste separation bins in the town for use by tourists and residents.
Training sessions on solid waste management for hotel and restaurant sta and
for municipality ocers.
A new, well located landll area.
Over 100 hotels and all local shops and restaurants participate in the waste
separation scheme.
112
5
Instruments
Tourism enterprises: most notably MSMEs, as these are likely to have more
limited professional capacity than larger enterprises and may be more likely to
seek assistance.
Local communities or more specic groups of local stakeholders.
Organizations and institutions, including government bodies and NGOs.
In the past, capacity building for tourism has tended to concentrate on issues of
business performance, competitiveness and quality. A sustainable tourism approach
would retain these priorities but add others such as management of human resources,
supply chains and the environment. In terms of process, it would emphasize an
integrated approach, encouraging enterprises and communities to work together.
Box 5.22: A government agency developing
sustainable tourism skills
In France, technical services relating to tourism are supplied by Observation,
Dveloppement et Ingnierie Touristique (ODIT France), a public sector structure
under the Ministry of Tourism. ODIT member organizations include other
ministries, chambers of commerce, private sector representative organizations,
regional and local oces of tourism and many other bodies engaged in tourism.
The role of ODIT France is to improve the performance of tourism in France,
including its competitiveness, accessibility and the sustainability of its development.
A primary function is capacity building and the development and exchange of
knowledge and technical skill.
Rather than imposing solutions from the centre, ODIT France works with
destinations and networks of enterprises at a local level, inputting technical expertise,
developing and experimenting with ideas through consultation and observation,
and then disseminating the results. It has worked in this way with a particular group
of destinations that have piloted an approach to sustainable tourism, including
developing a range of sustainability indicators.
ODIT France has produced good practice guides and advisory publications on
sustainable transport, the management of natural sites, and ecotourism, amongst
others. It has also been active in helping destinations and specic types of enterprises
that wish to develop a sustainable approach, to network, learn from one another and
engage in joint promotion on several themesexamples include major heritage sites,
rural self-catering accommodation and outgoing tour operators.
ODIT France was created in January 2005 by the amalgamation of AFIT (Agence
Franaise de lIngnierie Touristique with two other tourism support bodies:
ONT (Observatoire Nationale du Tourisme) and SEATM (Service dEtudes et
dAmnagement Touristique de la Montagne).
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Instruments
Governments, both national and local, can play a direct role in the delivery of
capacity building activity, or they may provide nancial, technical or political
assistance to others to do this. Capacity building is often a key part of assistance
projects for sustainable development, which may involve a range of agencies including
government. Support does not necessarily have to be nancial, governments are often
well placed to play a facilitation role.
Governments have a particularly important role in initiating and supporting research
programmes, of which the results can be used in capacity building, in disseminating
good practice, and in establishing stakeholder networks.
In many countries, governments may provide or fund institutions that are central
to capacity building, such as research bodies, advisory services, and education and
training establishments (see Box 5.22, page 113).
Capacity building with enterprises
An important part of the capacity building process involves helping individual businesses
to make their operations more sustainable. Techniques used include the following:
Providing direct advice: a number of governments support small business advisory
services, which may also be assisted by donors. Providing technical advice on
environmental management and other sustainability issues has proved to be one
of the best ways of achieving eective change. Advice can also be integrated with
the certication process as indicated earlier. A challenge is often to get enterprises
to seek advice on sustainability in the rst place. For this reason a wider audience
may be reached by integrating sustainability with more mainstream business and
marketing advice.
Box 5.23: Capacity building tools linked to business interest
In England, the government agencies responsible for the rural environment and for
tourism joined together to produce a green audit kit for tourism businesses. This is a
practical advisory manual on environmental management that gives technical advice
as well as seeking to stimulate a response from businesses by demonstrating specic
benets (e.g. cost savings) and to relate actions to wider functions and objectives such
as marketing and the quality of the customer experience. The kit was distributed on
request, so active circulation was a weakness. The impact on those receiving it was
nevertheless extremely positive66 per cent took action as a result.
It was found that this advisory manual was not enough on its own. To back up the
kit, the tourist boards established The Green Advantage, a one day training course
for enterprises, leading to a certicate. This is oered as part of thematic training
under the Welcome Host brand, including customer care. There is now pressure
from enterprises that have worked with the kit and undertaken training to receive
recognition through certication, which is still to be developed in England. Many of
the enterprises also found that their local authorities do not give sucient back up,
such as providing recycling schemes.
114
1. Australias
Business Ready
Programme
for Indigenous Tourism
is designed to assist
Indigenous Tourism
businesses to develop
the skills to set up and
run commercially viable
tourism operations (see
Case Studies, p 130).
2. Ecotourism business
development and
marketing is a key element
of Bulgarias National
Ecotourism Strategy (see
Case Studies, p 135).
3. In South Africa,
emphasis is placed on skills
development. A national
qualications framework
has been established,
intended to trigger
increased investment in
training by employers (see
Case Studies, p 162).
In South
Africa, schemes
have been
devised for sta lacking
formal education to benet
from on-the-job training
and assessment leading to
qualications, rather than
vocational training based
on written examination
(see Case Studies, p 162).
In Egypt, hotel
environmental
ocers are
identied and receive
training and certication
(see Case Studies, p 144).
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Instruments
Running training courses and workshops: these may cover relevant aspects
of business and environmental management. Training sessions, including
familiarization excursions, can also be used eectively to raise enterprise
awareness of the special qualities and sensitivities of the local natural and cultural
heritage, which may be passed on to guests.
Using advisory manuals: a number of countries and projects have produced
written manuals for enterprises on sustainability, which also include contacts
for more detailed information (see Box 5.23). These are a good way to reach
a relatively wide audience but may be more eective if combined with direct
training and other instruments.
Instruments
In Australia,
a government
programme
is supplying a package
of support for tourism
development within
indigenous communities,
including help with
fostering alliances with
the mainstream tourism
industry (see Case
Studies, p 130).
In Ghana,
international
agencies and
national government
bodies have been involved
in capacity building with
individual communities,
assisting them in deciding
on the potential viability
of communal tourism
programmes based on
natural and cultural
heritage resources and on
the ways in which benets
will be distributed (see
Case Studies, p 149).
116
In Ghana, it
became clear
that success
depends on alerting all
ministries to sustainable
tourism opportunities
and issues, strengthening
the ability of key agencies
such as the tourist board
to deliver support,
and bringing district
administrations onboard
(see Case Studies, p 149).
In Calvia,
the main
requirement
was not so much a
question of technical
ability as the need to secure
political backing and
educate politicians in the
Local Agenda 21 process
(see Case Studies, p 167).
In Egypt, an
environmental
monitoring
unit was established in
the Tourism Development
Authority (see Case
Studies, p 144).
Specic skills training has also been delivered, for example for guides and cooks and
for the production of dierent kinds of handicraft.
The programme found that it was necessary to develop structures to take sustainable
tourism forward within communities and existing institutions. This involved
establishing Sustainable Tourism Development Committees at the village level,
Sustainable Tourism Development Sections within the district authorities, and a
Sustainable Tourism Development Unit within the Nepal Tourism Board.
117
5
Instruments
Instruments
Scotlands
Tourism and
Environment
Forum has a very
practical newsletter and
a website which are good
examples of attractive
and informative
communication (see Case
Studies, p 172).
The study
tours and
international
conferences organized
by Egypts Red Sea
Initiative were very
important in inuencing
the countrys new
direction (see Case
Studies, p 144).
118
Instruments
119
5
Instruments
Box 5.27 gives an example of how some community based tourism networks are
jointly promoting a common brand.
Some destinations are seeking to convey concepts of sustainability (such as clean
environments and engaged communities) in their core branding and images. This
can be helpful in terms of drawing visitors attention to such issues at the outset, but
only if the above conditions are met. Using sustainability images in a contrived way
can be damaging.
Irrespective of brands and images, all destinations should ensure that visitors are
provided with accurate and suciently detailed information, before and during
their trip, to enable them to make well informed choices and encourage responsible
Box 5.27: Promoting community-based tourism networks
A number of developing countries, including Kyrgyzstan, Namibia, Tanzania and
Uganda amongst others, have established networks of community-based tourism
projects, partly to assist mutual support and capacity building, and partly for joint
promotion within a common brand. Consistency of quality, visitor experience and
adherence to sustainability principles are important in maintaining brand values, and
it is up to the members and network coordinators to address this.
Most networks oer a range of basic accommodation, such as camping sites or
homestays, village visits, cultural programmes, guided walks, and local foods and
handicrafts. At least some of the income is disbursed to benet the community as a
whole and projects may be based on varying degrees of community ownership.
Many of these networks have been established with the assistance of development
agencies. Although they are becoming self-sucient, marketing support from
government can be very valuable to them.
In Tanzania, the Cultural Tourism Programme, which oers visits to tribal
villages, was set up by the Netherlands Development Organization SNV, but the
custodianship of it has been handed over to the Tanzania Tourist Board, which was
a partner in the programme from the beginning. The Board provides marketing
assistance and exposure, including housing the enquiry and reservation facility in the
Tourist Information Centre in Arusha to provide a gateway to the communities.
120
behaviour. This should relate to the destination as a whole and to individual locations,
communities and sites. It should cover:
Instruments
In Scotland,
membership
of the Green
Tourism Business Scheme
is indicated against
entries in the ocial
accommodation guide and
enquirers can click on the
ocial website for a list
of certied properties (see
Case Studies, p 172).
121
5
Instruments
The availability of good quality information to visitors when they arrive and
during their stay can be a very valuable tool for making tourism more sustainable.
Information that brings out the qualities, distinctiveness and interest of the
immediate local area can help to encourage higher spending within the community.
The delivery of local information can also be combined with an element of
interpretation, helping to raise visitors understanding of local environmental issues
and the needs of communities. Key delivery outlets include:
Tourist Information Centres (TIC): face to face information delivery can be
particularly eective in getting the right messages across to visitors. TICs are
often government supported, though their long term economic sustainability is
frequently a challenge.
Visitor Centres: these may combine visitor information and interpretative displays.
Panels and signage providing information and interpretation: these need to be
robust, well designed, simply worded, and strategically placed yet unobtrusive.
Holiday company representatives: introductory information provided to visitors
by reps, serving to orientate them within the resort and the wider area, can be
very inuential.
Accommodation hosts: proprietors and reception sta provide a regular point
of contact throughout a visit. Information they deliver (personally or through
notices) can relate to the local area or to behaviour within the establishment itself,
such as use of water, turning o lights, etc.
Guides: tour guides and local guides can play a critical role in inuencing visitor
behaviour as well as providing interpretation.
All the above should be made well acquainted with sustainability issues in the area,
through familiarization visits and training.
Box 5.28: Teaching good practice to visitors
In the USA, Leave No Trace is a national programme run by a non-prot
organization, which is supported by a number of federal agencies as well as outdoor
recreation bodies and commercial companies. It was established originally by the US
Forest Service, and later joined by the National Park Service and others.
The programme teaches people how to behave responsibly in the outdoors, with an
emphasis on environmental impact focused round a seven point code: Plan ahead
and prepare; Travel and camp on durable surfaces; Dispose of waste properly; Leave
what you nd; Minimize campre impacts; Respect wildlife; and Be considerate of
other visitors. It is delivered through a range of train the trainer courses, workshop
sessions with groups (such as youth groups) and public contact at visitor centres
and elsewhere. The courses and a wide range of information material are based on
scientic research and practical experience obtained over a number of years.
122
Local promotional campaigns and information delivery should not be seen only as
tools aimed at visitors.
Governments inuencing outgoing markets
Governments can further aect the sustainability of tourism by using marketing
and information to inuence the behaviour of their own citizens as international
travellers. In the past this has mainly been motivated by concern for traveller safety,
but some governments in developed countries (see Box 5.29) have recently taken an
interest in the impact of travel from their countries on the sustainable development
of recipient countries. This can involve:
Instruments
Being conscious of the impact of ocial travel advice about certain countries on
the wellbeing of the local tourist industry. Statements need to be carefully worded,
specic, accurate and up to date.
Encouraging and inuencing tour operators and the travel media in their support
for sustainable development and information given to tourists.
123
Notes
5
Instruments
124
Conclusions:
The way forward
This Guide has presented and examined the wide range of issues
and signicant challenges involved in making tourism more
sustainable. The most eective structures and strategic approaches
to policy making and the relevant implementation instruments
have been discussed and illustrated.
Conclusions
126
Conclusions
work with them on this. Tourism will not become more sustainable without their
active commitment and response to the policies and instruments outlined here.
The messages contained in the Guide are also relevant to other types of organization
and institution, including the many kinds of government agencies, quasigovernmental bodies, and NGOs working in the elds of sustainable development,
environment and tourism. Such organizations are particularly important in building
bridges between government, the private sector and local communities. As well
as participating in policy formulation, they have a very valuable role to play in the
development and execution of many of the instruments identied here, such as
certication and capacity building.
Individual countries should not work in isolation on making tourism more
sustainable. Many sustainability issues have trans-boundary, regional and global
implications. Inter-regional bodies should take note of the Guide and facilitate
joint approaches between governments as appropriate. The document also has many
implications for multinational and bilateral development assistance agencies and the
way they support tourism policies and projects.
127
Conclusions
128
Case Studies
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Australia:
Australia
130
131
Australia
Accreditation Programme), a system that has been led and developed by the
industry. Rather than covering all types of tourism, it is limited to ecotourism,
as it was felt that there was a particular need to ensure that tourism in fragile
natural or cultural environments was denitely sustainable, and that the ecotourism
could be an exemplar of sustainability that could act as a mentor to the rest of
the tourism industry. The criteria include elements essential to sustainability
such as: environmental impact, contributions to conservation, working with local
communities, cultural sensitivity and returns to local communities.
Some important points about NEAP (now called the EcoCertication Programme),
which is administered by Ecotourism Australia, include:
Awards, given to individual products, such as tour programmes or accommodation
units, rather than enterprises. In 2004, the programme included 414 certied
products belonging to 179 operators.
Anecdotal evidence but no proven research that participants have strengthened
their environmental and social management because of the programme.
The application document gives practical recommendations, contacts and details
of courses. The process of assessment has often involved assessors or NEAP
Panel members providing informal training and advice.
As there was unwillingness by enterprises to pay for a edgling programme, costs
had to be kept low, so it was based largely on self-checks with limited on-site
auditing. As the program has grown and become more successful, it is demanding
a higher degree of rigour through introducing more regular on-site auditing.
The programme is broadly self-sucient in terms of day-to-day running, but
has relied heavily on external funding and support for marketing, promoting
to enterprises, and the auditing and judging processes, especially from state
governments (notably Queensland).
Take up of the programme has been considerably strengthened by certication
becoming a condition for enterprises to attain, or be favoured for, other benets,
notably preferential access or extended tenure for operating in protected areas
(imposed by Western Australia for example).
As result of the White Papers emphasis on the delivery of quality experiences,
Australia has been giving considerable weight to voluntary certication programmes
throughout the tourism industry as a way of strengthening quality. There is a focus
not just on provision of facilities against standards, but on business tness and
economic sustainability, such as evidence of legal compliance, basic business planning,
marketing plans, human resource management, good operational management
systems and risk management strategies.
The EcoCertication Programme has been modied to take account of these wider
criteria. Other environmental certication programmes, such as the Green Globe
21, are also active in Australia. Green Globe 21 has led initiatives to coordinate
environmental standards with the quality star programmes through collaboration
with the Australian Automobile Association. The majority of mainstream and sectorspecic tourism certication programmes now include basic environmental and
sustainability criteria.
132
With much of the tourism industry dependent on Australias unique natural and
cultural heritage, much of the concern about sustainable tourism in federal policy
documents has focused on the relationship between tourism interests and protected
area and heritage management.
The Australian Government report, Pursuing Common Goals: Opportunities for Tourism
and Conservation, released in July 2003, examines the relationship between tourism
and protected area management and concludes that there is substantial potential to
develop ventures that will grow tourism while improving environmental protection.
Many Indigenous communities are located within national parks and world heritage
areas or on lands still in a natural state and with high scenic attraction. Accordingly,
park management processes and environmental regulations are likely to have a
disproportionately higher impact on Indigenous tourism.
The Pursuing Common Goals report identiedthrough case studies and discussions
with stakeholdersthat there is a lack of small business skills in indigenous
communities, as well as limited product development and poor linkages to existing
tourism systems. The report indicated that Indigenous Tourism products and
businesses are underdeveloped and that even where indigenous culture is a prime
reason for the existence of a protected area and where tourism appears to be
developed, more indigenous experience could be added.
The Business Ready Programme for Indigenous Tourism is a Tourism White Paper
initiative, designed to assist existing and start-up Indigenous Tourism businesses to
develop the business skills and knowledge specically required to establish and run a
commercially viable tourism operation.
The Tourism and Conservation Initiative is also a
key element of the Tourism White Paper, aimed at
facilitating the development of nature-based tourism
attractions while increasing Australias capacity to
protect and conserve the environment. The Tourism and
Conservation Initiative aims to encourage an integrated
approach to planning tourism and conservation
developments and increase the range and scope of
innovative tourism centres that will signicantly improve
protection and presentation of eco-systems.
Funding of AUS$4.6 million will be available over three
years to:
Support Tourism and Conservation Partnerships that
stimulate regionally signicant nature-based tourism
and conservation.
Conduct research aimed at product development and
economic evaluation of park tourism.
Improve park systems and regulations to engender partnerships between
protected area managers and tourism operators.
Develop a tourism and conservation agenda.
Skyrail - an EcoCertied
attraction
Photo: Tourism Queensland
133
Queensland is a state that has been particularly active in the development and
management of ecotourism, and extending this to concern for the sustainability of
tourism as a whole. The Queensland government has introduced practical initiatives
that underpin sustainability, some of which are presented below.
Eective political and technical structures. The Growing
Tourism Strategy has been developed by the State
government to provide a whole of government approach
to strategic tourism planning, policy and development.
The strategy involves key government bodies in its
implementation, with coordination facilitated by an acrossagency Chief Executive Ocers Committee, and identied
tourism contacts in each agency. Industry is involved
through a Tourism Industry Consultative Forum. At a
technical level, within Tourism Queensland a dedicated unit
was established to cover tourism sustainability.
The Queensland Ecotourism Plan. This state level plan,
following on from the National Ecotourism Strategy, is
seen as a living plan with frequent updates and has been
supported by many practical implementation measures,
including training workshops and the distribution of a range
of self-help manuals.
134
Bulgaria:
National Ecotourism Strategy and Action Plan
Bulgaria
135
Bulgaria
136
Bulgaria
overseeing the implementation of the plan and its annual review and update,
as well as development of a Federation of Regional Tourism Associations
ensuring that local issues are reected in national policy, providing support and
assisting coordination.
Clustering and networking. The strategy puts a lot of emphasis on gaining
strength and impact through networking between enterprises and mutual
support between tourism and other sectors at a local levelintroducing a
concept of competitive clusters.
Ecotourism business development and marketing. There is considerable
emphasis on providing business support through structured advice and training,
nancial assistance packages, well targeted promotion, quality assurance
schemes and branding. The action plan contains some specic product
development programmes such as a network of eco-lodges.
Information management. This includes the development of product databases,
regular visitor surveys, and identifying and disseminating best practices.
137
Bulgaria
conditions can be enforced. Secondly, the law relating to local government was
changed so that revenue from tourism taxes remains in the municipality and has to
be used for tourism related infrastructure.
The strategy and action programme provides a vital framework for securing further
funding from the European Union and other sources, as well as a dedicated budget
from government. In addition, some specic funding mechanisms for ecotourism
enterprise development and associated projects include a Trust Fund (the National
Trust Eco Fund and associated Protected Areas Fund), which attracts external donor
money, and the Ministry of Environments National Environmental Enterprise
Fund. The latter acquires resources from environmental taxes on fuel, pollution, etc.
A component (1 million per year) is specically earmarked for ecotourism and
protected area management.
Other instruments which are to be developed under the National Ecotourism Action
Plan include:
Capacity building structures at a local level, in the form of business growth centres.
The establishment of guidelines on limits of acceptable change and acceptable use
for protected areas and cultural monuments.
A process of synchronization of relevant legislation to reect the strategy.
Mainstreaming the approach
Although this is a strategy and action plan for ecotourism, it is widely accepted that
tourism in Bulgaria needs to become more sustainable generally. When launching
the ecotourism strategy, the Prime Minister said that it pointed the way towards a
sustainable tourism strategy for Bulgaria.
Ecotourism in Bulgaria is not seen as something entirely separate from mass tourism
and of no interest to larger operatorsrather, it is seen as a way of diversifying the
tourism product and providing a basis for transforming the image of Bulgarian
tourism. Concepts and approaches developed within the ecotourism sector can be
used to address tourism more broadly.
Steps that have been taken to strengthen the impact of the ecotourism strategy on
tourism and sustainable development generally, include:
Placing the National Ecotourism Working Group within the National Tourism
Council.
Making it conditional on municipalities that they take the ecotourism strategy
into account in preparing regional and local plans. This is particularly important
for funding, as decisions on the spending of future EU money will depend on
priorities in these local plans.
Integrating ecotourism into the work of Regional Tourism Associations.
Involving the inuential and respected Foundation for Local Government
Reform at key stages in the formulation of the strategy and action plan.
Seeking to pave the way for ecotourism and sustainable tourism in the wider
Balkans region, including close involvement with the Regional Environment Centre.
138
Costa Rica:
Costa Rica
139
Costa Rica
The rst ecotourism businesses and private nature reserves were established by
biologists and conservationists who had studied Costa Ricas diverse ora and fauna.
These businesses were governed from their inception by a strong conservation
and social ethic, and they became the models upon which the rest of Costa Ricas
ecotourism industry was built. Because of the success of the founders, late-coming
businesses often followed the environmental and social lead of the original models.
Another factor that stimulated this approach was the recognition of market
opportunity. The tourist board and the traditional business leaders of the tourist
industry came to realize the importance of the environment in determining Costa
Ricas market position. The countrys visitors generally engage in a varied series
of experiences that include ecotourism, combined with a visit to a volcano and
with conventional beach and city activities. Because the primary motivator for
visiting Costa Rica is its reputation as a natural destination, large conventional
hotels and tour operators now often implement sound environmental and social
practices. Ecotourism and the sustainability of wider forms of tourism have become
complementary. It has been good business for the country.
As a younger generation of business leaders developed policy, sustainability criteria
became mainstream concepts, in government and industry. Even now, however,
promoters of conventional mass tourism exert political inuence, although they too
have adopted sustainability criteria in their project portfolios.
Tourism strategy and planning
Costa Ricas tourism master plan for 20022012 is entirely based on using the
principles of sustainable development for the sound expansion of the countrys tourist
industry. In this plan, preservation, conservation, ecotourism, and conventional yet
sustainable tourism to beaches and cities maintain their existing complementarity.
Subsidiary zoning and regulatory plans for several of the larger tourist zones of the
country have now been developed down to a 1:20 000 scale, based on sound use (or
preservation in other cases) of natural resources for tourism and other activities. These
plans are now being integrated into ecotourism management plans for protected
areas, and an eort is being made to encourage local governments to convert the
plans into binding zoning regulations for private land.
It is too soon to tell whether the sustainable tourism master plan for the country
will be fully implemented and enforced. There is a large gap between stated policy
and legally binding regulations. In part, this is because Costa Ricas constitution and
legislation give wide latitude and freedom to do business in any legitimate form.
There is also recognition that it is easy to legislate, but dicult and often impractical
to enforce regulations. Finally, there is reluctance, on the part of local governments,
to establish legally binding zoning regulationsperhaps because of the high cost of
establishing zoning over a large area for the rst time, perhaps because of political
opposition to establishing limits on permissible construction. Although it is
government policy to promote sustainable tourism and ecotourism, there is in fact
little government support for sustainable businesses versus conventional ones, because
it is in most cases illegal for the government to oer preferential treatment.
140
Costa Rica
Two important tools through which the government can exert inuence on business
are described below. These may combine with consumer demand for environmental
good behaviour to make it easier for businesses to comply with government policy.
141
Costa Rica
economic context. The questions are designed to be self-evident in intent, so that the
business owner can do an initial self-evaluation and then improve the characteristics
of the business, without the need for outside consultants. The certication standard
emphasizes easily measured performance criteria, rather than environmental
management systems, although there are a few process-based requirements.
This structure allows a business to bring itself into basic compliance rapidly and
inexpensively, and auditing is straightforward and also rapid.
Certication is awarded by an independent commission to those businesses that
have been shown, upon external audit, to comply with certain minimum mandatory
criteria, as well as achieving a minimum score of 20 per cent in each of the four basic
areas. Further compliance allows the business to achieve up to ve levels of CST,
indicated by leaves (parallel in concept with one to ve stars for quality). However the
business is rated by the lowest score in each of the four areas, a strong motivation for
added attention to the weakest areas. To reach the fth level of CST (ve leaves), a
business must score at least 95 per cent in all four areas. Only two businesses in Costa
Rica have accomplished this (out of 49 certied by mid 2004).
The development and continued operation of CST have depended on collaboration
between the Tourist Board, the principal business school, the National Institute
for Biodiversity, the National Chamber of Tourism, academic institutions, and
environmental organizations.
CST has had a salutary eect on Costa Ricas tourist industry, as it establishes a set of
credible, objective criteria for sustainability. Those businesses that have been certied
and have made an eort to improve their rating, have become fervent promoters
of sustainable practices. Because the certication instrument eectively promotes
exemplary environmental and social practices, certied businesses have tended to
improve their performance in these areas in a noticeable way.
The scheme has been led by government. Strengths, partly as a consequence of this, include:
However, fewer businesses have been certied than might be expected. This may also
reect on government involvement, with some bureaucratic inertia, inconsistency
following political changes, and weak promotion to businesses and tourists.
Work with protected areas and private reserves
Another legally permissible mechanism available to the government for supporting
sustainable tourism businesses is the payment for the environmental services oered by
private nature reserves. More than half of all private reserves in Costa Rica oer some
form of ecotourism, and these (along with those that do not) are entitled to receive
annual payments for protecting biodiversity, scenic beauty, and water production, as
well as reducing the emission of carbon dioxide that would result from deforestation.
142
Costa Rica
Certain categories of protected areas, such as wildlife refuges and forest reserves,
usually have mixed public and private ownership. In these cases, it is legally permissible
to oer aspects of the management of the protected area in concession to an
environmental or community organization, but this has been done in only one case.
This mechanism is considered too politically sensitive to implement on a wider scale,
lest it create the impression that the government is privatizing protected areas.
143
Egypt:
Egypt
144
Antiquities provided the primary source of visitor attraction to Egypt until the early
1980s. Since then, there has been remarkable growth in tourism on the Red Sea
coast, based on the appeal of the abundant marine life in the coral reef systems. The
number of hotel rooms has grown from a few hundred in 1980 to almost 45 000
in 2005, attracting 2 million visitors. The Tourism Development Authority (TDA),
established under the Ministry of Tourism, in 1991, has initial plans for a four-fold
increase in the number of hotel rooms, to 164 000 on the coastal land over which it
has jurisdiction (the number of rooms country wide in 2017 will approach 350 000).
Egypt
The TDA allocates large portions of land to private sector investors, who operate
under contract with the TDA and who are responsible for the establishment of
infrastructure, construction and operation of hotels, and the provision of community
utilities for sta.
In the early years, the programme of tourism development was driven by growth
targets in terms of visitor numbers and accommodation capacity. However, the TDA
has now rethought its approach to embrace concerns for the environment of the
destination, its overall quality and long term future. This has been assisted by the Red
Sea Sustainable Tourism Initiative (RSSTI), which is based on a bi-lateral agreement
between the USA and Egypt. USAID has supported the programme through
technical assistance and the provision of cash transfers based on successful adoption
of policy measures.
Land Use Management Plan and Zoning Regulations
An important component of the initiative was the preparation of a detailed plan for
one of the coastal sectors. The TDA commissioned the South Marsa Alam Sector
Strategic Development Plan in June 2001. The strategy considered three development
alternatives: high growth (conventional/existing type) tourism development;
sustainable tourism development; and low growth/ecotourism development. The
studys proposed sustainable tourism alternative suggested around 15 000 rooms
for the area, or the equivalent of thirty-eight 400-room hotels along a 30-kilometre
coastline of which around 50 per cent consists of fringe reefs and protected areas.
The planning process for the Land Use Management Plan that followed was based
on the fact that dierent resources have dierent abilities to accommodate various
tourism activities. Identifying the key resources of the planning area, and those that
are most sensitive, was seen as an initial step in ensuring provision of appropriate
types and levels of tourist uses. The following steps for assessing the resource
sensitivity and identifying the land use zoning scheme were followed:
1. Collection of data on the existing conditions for each resource as a separate
Geographic Information System (GIS) layer.
2. Subdivision of the planning area into
homogenous natural sub-zone/habitats by
combining all natural resource layers.
3. Classication of the sub-zones/habitats based
on ranges of weighted values. Sensitivity
to tourism use was graded (based on the
professional judgement of experts) as: low,
medium, high, or very high.
4. Development of a land use zoning scheme
for the dierent grades of natural sub-zones
according to their environmental sensitivity.
5. Development of conservation, management
and development regulations for the land use
management zones.
145
Egypt
A Sensitivity Map rates the most sensitive resources in terms of their resilience to
the impacts of use. This illustrates an important issue: in general, the resources that
the visitors want to see are often those that cannot withstand the impacts of use. The
challenge for the zoning scheme was to accommodate use near or in the resources
while minimizing or eliminating impacts.
Each of the proposed management zones corresponded to the dierent grades
of sensitivity within the natural sub-zones of the Southern Red Sea Region. The
following zoning scheme was proposed for the planning area: Core Zone (Absolute
Reserve Areas); Buer Zone (Restricted Wilderness Areas); Transition Zone
(Ecotourism Zone); Low Intensity Development Zone (Coastal Eco-Resort Zone);
and Moderate Intensity Development Zone. The Land Use Management plan listed
general regulations for the management of zones identied in the zoning scheme
to safeguard the area from urban expansion and ensure the best investment of
environmental and cultural resources and the preservation of ecological balance.
The result led to radical changes to the regulations applied previously by the TDA,
leading to serious modications and cancellation of development plans in some zones.
For example, in the low intensity zone, the new regulations changed the stipulated
maximum density from 20 rooms per feddan (0.42ha) to 2 rooms per feddan and
maximum heights from three to two or one storeys. In the transition zone, the only
type of lodging facilities allowed will be the ecolodges and campsites with a maximum
of 50 rooms on specied sites. The regulations also indicate limits on access.
The new regulations govern both development and conservation activities and were
approved by a tripartite committee of the TDA, the Egyptian Environmental Aairs
Agency (EEAA) and the Red Sea Governorate. For the rst time in Egypt, planning
regulations are based on sustainability criteria that combine long-term ecological
viability, long-term economic viability, ethical use of resources, equity with local
communities, and compliance with EEAA guidelines and Environmental Law 4/1994.
Environmental impact assessment (EIA)
The EIA system in Egypt uses a listing approach to screen projects according to the
possible severity of environmental impact, dividing them into those with a mandatory
requirement for EIA, those where further screening is needed, and those not
requiring EIA.
Responsibility for EIAs for tourism projects is divided between the TDA and EEAA,
with evaluation by both. The RSSTI identied many weaknesses in the process,
including:
A lack of guidelines for tourism projects (emphasis had previously been on more
polluting industries).
Insucient coordination between the developer, TDA and EEAA, leading to
hold ups in approval and many projects going ahead without it.
Conicting information between TDA and EEAA on EIA compliance.
No systematic review to ensure that mitigation measures and compliance required
by the EIA are followed.
146
Egypt
Economic instruments
Although regulations have been drawn up, the TDAs policy in dealing with
developers is to encourage rather than discourage, provide incentives rather than
penalize, and guide rather than command. To this end, a set of economic instruments
has been developed, including:
147
Ecotourism development
Egypt
148
Ghana:
Community based tourism initiative
Ghana
149
Ghana
Action at each site has included the provision of an information centre, sanitation
facilities, refuse containers, safety equipment, marketing materials and basic training
in hospitality skills.
Sustainability objectives and effect on national tourism
This product was developed from the outset around sustainable development
objectives. Potential benets include:
Community engagement and control.
Poverty alleviation, including distribution of benets within the community.
Conservation of natural and cultural heritage resources, through the eorts of the
community supported by visitor income.
Regional and rural development. Until now, much of the countrys tourism focus
had been on the capital and coast.
Product diversication. A variety of dierent experiences can be placed on tourist
itineraries.
Visitor numbers have exceeded initial expectations. Trends are upwards, with almost
a doubling in revenue in 2003 over the rst year of operation. A number of local and
international tour operators are featuring the sites in their itineraries.
The project has had a considerable impact on the national governments outlook
on tourism. The Ministry of Tourism has used the experience of the project to
make a case in cabinet for the prioritization of ecotourism as a growth sector that
150
Ghana
contributes to poverty alleviation, and has linked this to Ghanas National Strategy
for Poverty Reduction. Partly as a result of the project, the Ministry of Finance has
increased its commitment to tourism by increasing the budget for its development.
The government has also been able to secure World Bank HIPC funding for
tourism projects, now that they are seen as making a contribution to the ght
against poverty.
Government capacity at different levels
The project has involved government in the practical issues of tourism development
and in the need to adapt policy and approach to incorporate sustainable tourism
objectives. However, it has also revealed a number of weaknesses and challenges that
need to be addressed, which may also be relevant to other countries seeking more
sustainable tourism.
The GTB, as the statutory agency for tourism development and with oces and
sta in all regions of Ghana, is hampered by a serious lack of resources and skills.
It also suers from a lack of policy guidelines, meaning that most eort is put into
administration rather than development and marketing. There is a tendency to
support the development of attractions rather than
enterprise, so income generating opportunities may
be lost. The distinction between the activities of the
GTB and those of the Ministry of Tourism is also
insuciently clear.
A clear commitment to tourism by other relevant
ministries is missing. A particular problem rests
with the Ministry of Land and Forestry, which is
responsible for protected areas. Use of parks for
tourism is not a well formulated objective, yet is of
critical importance for the wellbeing of sustainable
tourism, partly because parks are among the few areas
where land tenure has been claried and guaranteed
by government. It is important that the conservation
and sustainable tourism use of parks is defended in
the face of mining and forestry interests. It is possible
that the prole given to sustainable tourism through
the project, and the interest generated in the Ministry
of Finance, might strengthen the inuence that can be
exerted over other ministries in this matter.
At the level of District Assemblies (DA), there are problems with the use of locally
obtained income. The DAs can tax economic activities in their areas in order to
improve local services and infrastructure such as provision of water, electricity and
roads. Such services are in very poor condition in many of the project sites, and their
improvement would be one way in which communities could benet from tourism
revenue. However, the DAs that are currently imposing a tax on the income from
the community tourism initiatives are not delivering improvements to services. This
needs to be resolved.
151
Ghana
The project has made good use of a number of tools in the development of the
product and in underpinning sustainability. These include:
Data collection and dissemination.
The regular collection of data on visitor numbers, spending, income, and employment
has been very important, not only in the management of the project and tracking
progress, but also in providing evidence to ministries. It was only through this data
that the government was persuaded of the value of rural tourism in Ghana.
Community consultation
Careful consultation was undertaken through the formal and also the traditional
structures of governanceelected district assemblies and traditional authorities.
Project assessment against feasibility and sustainability criteria
A systematic process of assessing proposals was undertaken. Interested communities
and individuals may rst contact the regional oces of the GTB. At the outset,
basic criteriato do with accessibility, general visitor appeal, ability to deliver local
benets, land tenure and linkages with other attractionsare checked. If these are
met, formal consultation with the community is conducted, to investigate the level of
community consensus. If consensus is reached, more specic development processes
are followed, based on checking against more detailed development criteria, which
include sustainability issues such as: community ownership structures, process of
distributing benets, involvement of women and youth, environmental and social
carrying capacity, contribution to poverty alleviation and biodiversity conservation.
Funding, reecting sustainability criteria
The level and nature of funding support to local projects is also assessed against
the criteria indicated above. This may be in the form of grants (applied to general
attractions and used partly to mitigate negative impacts such as for access control
measures and refuse disposal), or loans (applied to enterprise development that has
created measurable and signicant benets for the community through a benet
distribution plan). Criteria have also been developed for the termination of support.
By-laws to control use
Most of the projects are related to natural or cultural heritage sites. Although misuse
of the site is often prevented through tribal laws, it was felt necessary to establish
some ocial by-laws to add further support to this. These have been aimed mainly
at controlling possible damaging activities by the communities and visitors, such as
hunting, extraction, vehicle access, etc. Agreement by the communities to these bylaws further underlines their support for the principles of sustainable tourism.
152
Mexico:
Agenda 21 for tourism in Mexico
Mexico
153
Mexico
Mexico also recognizes that tourists are becoming more discerning, are using new
technology to obtain more information to select their destinations, and will be
aected by changes in transportation, geopolitical and security considerations, and
social and cultural changes.
All these factors point to the need for tourism planning and development that is
more sensitive to visitors needs and to economic, social and environmental impacts.
An integrated policy structure
Agenda 21 for Tourism in Mexico is a joint initiative of SECTUR (Ministry of
Tourism) and SEMARNAT (Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources).
It was launched in 2002, with support from the WTO. Essentially, it provides a tool
for improving tourism impact at the municipal (local destination) level, supported by
state authorities and based on a process developed, coordinated and championed at
federal level.
154
Mexico
By mid 2004, the Local Agenda 21 process had been established in 5 pilot areas
followed by 15 further destinations. These were selected to span seven types of
location: Large integrally planned resorts (Cancun); Beach resorts (Acapulco);
Large cities (Tijuana); Medium sized towns (Merida); World Heritage Cities
(Oaxaca); Magical towns (a national branding of culturally rich places, e.g.
Cuetzalan); and Nature areas ( Jalcomulco). The programme is also under way in 12
additional localities.
155
Mexico
A Local Agenda 21 Committee for each location is responsible for coordinating and
monitoring the programme. The tourism unit within the state government provides
leadership at the state level and links with other state authorities and with the federal
Tourism Secretariat. The latter is also part of the Committee, as technical advisor,
and provides links with other federal bodies.
Each Committee has been developing proposals for action to achieve greater
sustainability, in conjunction with the local, state and federal stakeholders and taking
account of the diverse and unique circumstances of each place.
A Sustainable Tourism Indicator system has been established, and has been used
to make a preliminary diagnosis of the sustainability conditions and possible
improvement measures in each of the destinations. This has proved to be very
important in identifying and presenting the issues for each committee and in
assisting decision making. These initial diagnoses are veried by local stakeholders.
The indicators cover:
Environmental impact: availability of fresh water; water consumption level;
treatment of water/sewage; energy consumption; air quality; generation of waste;
handling and recycling of waste; environmental education.
Socio-economic impact: unemployment level; contribution to local economy;
contribution to local income tax; wellbeing and engagement of the local
population; demographic pressure; security; access.
Tourism supply and demand: visitor satisfaction; visitor spending; occupancy and
seasonality; oer quality and price; certication; attractiveness of destination;
bathing water quality.
Urban development: planning and environmental legislation programmes; control
of urban growth; provision of infrastructure; state of housing; preservation of
image (architectural and landscape).
An Environmental Quality certication programme for tourism enterprises has been
established and certicates have been awarded, principally to hotels but also to other
enterprises such as marinas and attractions.
In the area of technical exchange, workshops on the application of Local Agenda
21 in tourist destinations have been held, in conjunction with the WTO, and on
international beach certication, jointly with the World Bank. In addition, regular
presentations have been given within commercial, academic and municipal forums,
and to the stakeholders in Mexicos principal tourism destinations.
Future challenges include: strengthening the operation of Local Agenda 21
committees; simplifying and rolling out the sustainable tourism indicator system;
expanding the number of companies in the environmental certication programme;
and strengthening the involvement of federal organizations in the overall initiative.
156
157
These included:
Kaikoura,
New Zealand
The threat of a diminishing visitor experience and income. Visitor surveys showed
that the quality of the environment, including the natural setting as well as the
marine life, was of fundamental importance to tourists. Moreover, visitors had an
image of Kaikoura as an environmentally sound destination, but in fact this was
not matched by reality. There was therefore considerable concern that failing to
meet visitor expectations could ultimately lead to an economic downturn similar
to that previously seen in other sectors.
Local concern for the environment. Surveys found that the quality of the
environment was considered to be equally important by the towns permanent
residents as by tourists.
A local incident underlining tourisms environmental sensitivity. In 2001 a
road accident caused a lorry to spill a load of poisonous chemicals into the sea.
Although the environmental damage turned out to be slight, Kaikoura received
urgent requests for reassurance from visitor markets around the worldthe
potential for loss of trade was recognized.
Reaching capacity in accommodating waste. The towns landll site was forecast
to be full by 2004, partly due to the rapid expansion in waste as a result of tourism
growth. Constructing a new site would place a considerable nancial burden on
local ratepayers. Rather than do this, the community decided to pursue active
waste minimization (see below). Working together on this provided a catalyst for
collaboration on wider environmental management.
Agreeing on a strategy
In order to guide the direction of tourism in Kaikoura, the District Council
worked together with representatives of the local community and Lincoln
University to produce the Kaikoura Tourism Strategy. This is being implemented
through a Tourism and Development Committee, which includes councillors,
tourism operators, community and Maori (indigenous) members, shing industry
representatives and the wider business community. Community involvement and
buy-in to the strategy was considered to be crucially important.
The tourism strategy focused on the need to address the seasonality of the tourism
oer, the length of stay and the economic return to the community, by attracting
a more diverse market base and developing more local facilities and land based
ecotourism activities. Since the tourism strategy was produced, it has been aligned
with a more recent policy statement on environmental and social sustainability which
sets out specic commitments by the District Council on environmental management
and community support and engagement, and has tourism at its core.
Specic management initiatives
Over the last ve years, the District Council, local businesses and the local
community have been working together on a number of environmental management
initiatives, which are also seen as bringing social and economic benet. Rather
than focusing specically on tourism, these initiatives are aimed at improving the
overall environmental management of Kaikoura, but tourism stakeholders are seen as
primary participants and beneciaries of this.
158
Kaikoura,
New Zealand
Waste management
Waste management in Kaikoura demonstrates a sound partnership approach
between community activists, who pioneered some early initiatives, and the
District Council. Action is now carried out by Innovative Waste Kaikoura (IWK),
a non-prot joint venture company between the District Council (49 per cent
shareholding) and a community trust (51 per cent shareholding). This partnership
structure ensures community ownership and the ability to raise funds from
charitable sources, together with the political commitment and nancial security
brought by local authority involvement.
159
Kaikoura,
New Zealand
proposals for its reduction. The Council showed leadership by reducing its own
energy consumption as part of the energy wise councils programme.
Biodiversity, land and coastal management
Various projects have been initiated to strengthen biodiversity, including introducing
traditional Maori practices of management of marine life and preventing overshing,
and working with private landowners on the management of waterways, wetlands
and other habitats. Areas of international, national and local importance to
biodiversity have been identied and landowners are encouraged and assisted in their
protection through rate relief, private covenants and the establishment of reserves.
Conservation working holidays have been introduced, organized by the District
Council and IWK in conjunction with the British Trust for Conservation Volunteers,
which have assisted the Trees for Travellers project and in the construction of trails
used by visitors.
Destination certication
In 2001, the opportunity arose for Kaikoura to be adopted as one of the rst pilot
communities to work towards certication as a sustainable destination under
the international Green Globe 21 scheme. It was felt that this would help to
consolidate the various separate initiatives already undertaken and underpin long
term commitment.
160
After signing up to the process, the next stage was comprehensive measurement and
benchmarking, covering 10 compulsory topics: presence of a sustainability policy;
extent of environmental accreditation of individual tourism enterprises; energy use;
greenhouse gas emissions; potable water consumption; resource conservation; waste
production; air quality; water quality; and biodiversity. Community wellbeing was
Kaikoura,
New Zealand
also included as an optional social topic, measured through a survey of local residents.
A nal local topic that was added, as it reects a particular local threat, is the number
of road accidents resulting in chemical spills.
To achieve certication, Kaikoura also had to demonstrate that it was meeting
a number of standards with respect to the management process, including: the
commitment of the lead authority; meeting all legal and regulatory requirements;
environmental and social planning; and stakeholder consultation and communication.
The community also had to submit to annual external inspection and verication.
Kaikoura was nally certied as a Green Globe destination in 2004. Its experience
highlights the hard work and diculties faced in trying to obtain adequate data to
achieve reliable measures of impact at a community level, taking into account both
resident and tourist impacts. However, the process has proved valuable in raising the
level of awareness and commitment to sustainability management across the whole
community. It provides an ongoing framework for monitoring and managing impact.
It has also raised the prole of Kaikoura externally in the tourism marketplace, as a
destination that can now claim, with justication, not only to oer a supreme naturebased experience for visitors, but also to be taking care of the environment.
Relationship to national policy and action
Kaikoura demonstrates a bottom-up approach towards making tourism more sustainable,
at the level of a small local community. It has relied on drive and commitment both
within the community and by the local authority, working in partnership.
At a national level, the New Zealand government has recognized the importance of
such local initiatives. It has often used Kaikoura as an example of good practice.
The approach ts well with the New Zealand Tourism Strategy 2010, which has
as one of four key objectives Securing and conserving a long term future. The
vision speaks of seeking to conserve and sustain New Zealands environment and
culture in the spirit of kaikiakitanga (Maori word for guardianship). The countrys
marketing slogan 100% Pure makes an assertion that needs to be matched by sound
environmental management.
The government is now providing tangible support for the approach of working on
sustainability with groups of individual tourism businesses and communities at a local
level. The ministries of tourism and of the environment have jointly introduced a
new fund for six regions, which will implement a sustainable tourism project over a
three year period. The regions will be asked to develop a sustainable tourism charter,
with local businesses committing to the charters principles. A sustainable tourism
expert will be funded to work within each project to turn the charter into action.
161
South Africa:
South Africa
162
The White Paper has had a strong inuence on subsequent policy and activity in the
tourism sector.
Following on from the White Paper, a set of Guidelines for Responsible Tourism was
published and distributed in booklet form. The process of developing the guidelines
generated a great deal of enthusiasm. The guidelines oer an enabling framework for
the public and private, the idea being that trade associations, geographically based
groups, etc. should use them to develop their own codes of conduct. Some have done so.
Provinces were all involved in the process of developing the guidelines and have
given support to their promotion and implementation. They have, accordingly,
created tourism functions and developed provincial policies and planning frameworks
sensitive to responsible tourism and in line with the White Paper.
In order to make the guidelines more practically meaningful to individual
enterprises, a Responsible Tourism Handbook was published which set out the steps
enterprises could take, gave short examples of what others had done, and referred to
assistance available.
Encouraging voluntary compliance
The approach in South Africa has been to start by encouraging voluntary
commitment to sustainability. Should this not be successful, legal instruments might
be considered to underpin the responsible tourism approach.
In order to demonstrate their compliance with responsible tourism, enterprises
can apply for relevant certication. The Fair Trade in Tourism trademark scheme
focuses on social issues and labour relations. The Hospitality Association also issues
awards for responsible tourism, including social and environmental criteria. These
are both independent certication schemes, but which receive some indirect support
from government.
163
South Africa
164
South Africa
Particular features of the approach that are most relevant to the needs of unemployed
and historically disadvantaged people, who have practical aptitude but limited formal
education, are:
combining apprenticeships with structured learning (tourism learnerships); and
national qualications based on practical assessment on the job rather than
through a written or oral examination which can discriminate against people with
limited literary or language skills.
Granting concessions and conferring rights
One of the most potent instruments used in South Africa is the process of laying
down conditions on developers or operators of tourism facilities, either when granting
planning permissions or licences, or when granting concessions to use areas of land
over which the government has control. The latter is a tool that government uses to
mobilize alternative capacity to develop and manage the countrys natural resources
for socio-economic development purposes. Conditions imposed often require
developers to demonstrate proposals for community involvement and benet.
An example is the awarding of concessions by South African National Parks to
safari operators, caterers and shop managers associated with Kruger National
Park. Concessionaires undertook to make sure that 79 per cent of their employees
would be recruited from historically disadvantaged communities near the park.
They successfully achieved this objective. At the same time, there has been an
improvement in the quality of services provided to visitors and more funds have been
secured for conservation.
The government recognizes the importance of providing communities with an
enabling environment in which they can obtain greater control over private sector
operators, and gain more benet from them. In many situations, communal land
rights require clarication. This is important in enabling communities to negotiate
concessions with developers.
An initiative of the Treasury has been
the introduction of a Tourism Public
Private Partnership Toolkit, recognizing
that such partnerships oer signicant
opportunities for job creation, poverty
alleviation, infrastructure investment,
skills development, environmental
protection, black economic empowerment
and tourism promotion in especially
marginalized parts of the country. The
toolkit aims to provide step-by-step
guidance to all parties for planning and
procuring a range of businesses based on
public-private partnership. This initiatives
envisaged outcome is to bring certainty
and consistency to tourism related
commercial investments on state land.
165
Over the past 10 years the government has followed a strategic approach to spatial
planning for tourism, through the identication of priority locations and corridors to
attract tourism investment. Some of these are areas where there is a particular desire
to establish more benets for local communities and to reverse the economic damage
of former times. Some of the dierent types of area designated for development or
management purposes have included:
Spatial Development Initiatives. Broad areas or development corridors, attracting
investment incentives and a holistic approach to development, including tourism.
Priority Areas for Tourism Infrastructure Investment. Small areas seen as
oering a new opportunity for spreading the economic benet of tourism, and
providing a focus for tourism investment.
Tourism nodes. Areas within which tourism enterprises network together, with
joint promotions and initiatives coordinated by local Destination Management
Organizations.
Trans-Frontier Parks or Conservation Areas. Large areas of important ecosystems,
requiring integrated management, where nature based tourism is seen as one
key to conservation by providing sustainable livelihoods for often marginalized
communities.
These designations have helped to mobilize economic activity in the area in question.
A range of nancial incentives and business advisory services has also been
introduced to assist MSMEs, some of which require, or give priority to, enterprises
which demonstrate a responsible tourism approach. Some of the incentives have
been focused on the development areas mentioned above, others have been more
widely available. The Development Bank of Southern Africa has developed its own
guidelines, based on the governments Guidelines for Responsible Tourism referred
to above, to assist in the evaluation of responsible tourism project proposals.
Transformation and competitiveness
In conclusion, South Africa provides a good example of a consistent approach to
sustainable tourism through policies and instruments cascading down from a bold
original policy document on tourism that put sustainability to the fore.
The case of South Africa demonstrates the advantage of having a clear government
commitment to transforming tourism, with a clear policy focuswidening the
base of tourism, making it more equitable and opening opportunities for previously
disadvantaged people. The value of such an approach to the performance and
standing of tourism as a whole can also be seen. A Global Competitiveness Study,
conducted by the government, indicated the potential benets to the tourism sector
arising from transformation, such as introducing innovation, providing a broader
range of products, oering an authentic South African experience, stimulating
growth and spreading economic benet across the nation.
166
Calvi (Spain):
Calvi, Spain
167
Calvi, Spain
168
1. To contain human pressure, limit growth and foster complete restoration of the
territory and its coastal area.
2. To foster the resident populations integration, coexistence and quality of life.
3. To protect the natural and marine heritage and promote the establishment of a
regional tourist tax to be used for the environment.
4. To restore the historical, cultural and natural heritage.
5. To promote the complete rehabilitation of residential and tourist areas.
6. To improve Calvi as a tourist destination, replacing growth with sustainable
quality, increasing expenditure per visitor and seeking a more balanced tourist
season.
7. To improve public transport and encourage people to walk or cycle in town
centres or from one centre to another.
8. To introduce sustainable management into the key environmental sectors: water,
energy and waste.
9. To invest in human and knowledge resources, to diversify the nancial system.
10. To innovate municipal management and increase the capacity of public/private
planned investment.
169
Calvi, Spain
which have been too large to fully reverse despite the initiatives undertaken in the
Action Plan.
There have been improvements in transport infrastructure. The Paseo de Calvi, a
40 kilometre cycling and walking path, was built linking urban centres, and is now
widely used by tourists and residents. However, public transport is still poor, due to
factors such as insucient integration with other territorial plans, lack of consistent
political will, limited support from the taxi industry and lack of usage by the local
community who favour private cars.
Environmental management
Signicant steps forward on protection and restoration of the local environment have
included the establishment of a marine park and terrestrial protected areas to protect
wildlife and ecosystems. Sea dredging previously used to regenerate beaches has been
terminated, and more environmentally friendly measures put in place to minimize
erosion. There are new regulations for mooring and anchoring in place and proposals
have been made for oating moorings, removable in winter, to limit anchor damage
and harbour congestion caused by boats.
Recycling and urban waste reduction plans have been implemented, to ensure that
30 per cent of all urban waste is separated at origin, facilitating and reducing cost of
recycling eorts and minimizing landll.
Eorts have been made to reduce water consumption, including an awareness
campaign and tax incentives. However, it has proved dicult to win support for
water conservation, with local people not keen to adjust taxes and charges nor to
reduce consumption. Demand exceeds supply and water is still being imported
from outside of the municipality. Today most of the potable water comes from a
desalination plant located in the municipality of Palma.
Actions have been taken to save energy, but targets have not been met. One factor is
the expense of renewable energy equipment.
Human resources and socio-cultural integration
A strength of the approach in Calvia has been the integration of actions relating
to tourism and to the quality of life of local people. It has been accepted that a
successful, sustainable resort needs to address local social concerns. Programmes
have been put in place to combat crime and address housing issues. Innovative work
has been undertaken to integrate both tourists and immigrants (often working in
the tourism industry) into the Mallorquin way of life, including multi-cultural social
programmes such as dance, Spanish language classes and other cultural events.
Despite a number of initiatives in the Action Plan, it has proved dicult to make
a signicant dierence to the knowledge base in tourism, through training and
education standards. High-volume tourism continues to be regarded as relying on
low-skilled, untrained labour and improvement in educational levels has not been
seen as a priority by tourism enterprises or local inhabitants.
170
Calvi, Spain
Overall, the formulation and adoption of the LA21 process and Action Plan has
been successful. Calvi has demonstrated what can be achieved by a careful process
of working together at a local level to develop and disseminate a common vision
and move towards achieving it. The use
of continual monitoring and an adaptive
management approach has been an
important feature. However, in addition
to the points made above, a number of
general lessons also emerge from the
experience:
171
Scotland (UK):
Scotland (UK)
172
In 2004, the Forum established a new focus for its work in inuencing tourism
policies and actions in Scotland when it published a statement entitled Scotland...
Towards Sustainable Tourism. This was partly spurred by moves by the UK and
Scottish governments towards more sustainable development and by a new European
Union requirement that certain development plans be subjected to Strategic
Environmental Assessment.
A review of existing policy documents relating to
tourism and sustainable development, together with
the WTOs denition of sustainable tourism, was
used to prepare an initial list of aims. These were
debated during a full day event involving a wide range
of stakeholders who were divided into workgroups
and asked to score each aim in terms of relevance and
achievability. Agreement was reached around the
following seven aims:
A more even spread of visitors throughout the year.
More tourism businesses actively enhancing
and protecting the environment, for example by
joining the Green Tourism Business Scheme (see below).
Greater investment in tourism people and skills.
A better integrated quality tourism product that meets visitors demands and
expectations and encourages them to stay longer and spend more.
A clearer understanding of tourisms impacts.
Greater involvement of communities in tourism planning, development and
marketing.
Greater use by visitors of Scotlands public transport system.
These aims were circulated widely throughout Scotland and each policy organization
was asked to develop them into specic, measurable objectives and to incorporate
them into its business plans. Forum sta facilitate these processes by working with
the respective organizations. A particular opportunity to exert inuence lies with
the forthcoming review of Scotlands national tourism strategy: Tourism Framework
for Action.
Practical management and marketing initiatives
As well as inuencing policy, the Forum has promoted more sustainable tourism
through a whole range of initiatives and the dissemination of good practice.
Examples include:
Tourism Management Programmes. Twelve partnerships were established at local
destination level, in towns or rural areas, bringing together local authorities, tourism
businesses and conservation and community interests. These established and
implemented visitor management actions including promoting alternative transport,
environmental improvements, trac management schemes and information and
interpretation initiatives. These were short term programmes (ve years) but were
173
Scotland (UK)
successful in demonstrating new approaches and relationships that have now largely
been absorbed by individual partners and authorities.
Wild Scotland. The Forum helped to establish an association of nature and
wildlife tourism operators, launched in 2003, with their own charter and
establishing best practice guidelines based on sustainability principles.
Website and newsletter. The Forums website (www.greentourism.org.uk) and
newsletter (Positive Impact) contain a great deal of information and many good
practice examples aimed at private sector operators, local authorities, national
level departments and agencies, and the media.
The Green Tourism Business Scheme
The Green Tourism Business Scheme (GTBS) is a key instrument in achieving
greater sustainability in Scotlands tourism. This is a voluntary environmental
certication scheme for tourism enterprises established by VisitScotland in 1998; it is
closely linked to the Forum. By 2004, there were 550 establishments in the scheme,
including accommodation and visitor attractions. Membership has been growing at
around 30 per cent per year.
The scheme is based on a menu of 150 actions that businesses can take in the
elds of: energy, waste, water, wildlife, transport, supporting the local economy,
management and marketing, and involving and informing customers. Some of the
actions are mandatory but most are voluntary. Enterprises obtain a bronze, silver or
gold award according to the number of actions taken. All enterprises are required to
measure and benchmark their energy and water consumption and waste production.
Inspection takes place every two years.
Some important pointers emerging from the scheme include:
174
The critical link to quality inspection. All enterprises in the GTBS have to be
quality inspected and graded by VisitScotland. Certain basic requirements such as
compliance with health, safety and other regulations are therefore already covered.
Furthermore, the GTBS is actively promoted as an add-on sustainability option
to quality grading, rather than as an entirely separate scheme. The ocial
recognition and credibility that this gives to the scheme is vital to its success.
Advice to participants. Real change in enterprise performance has been achieved
as much through the associated advice and information provided to participants
Scotland (UK)
as through the incentive of the label. Personal help is given at the time of initial
inspection; a series of data and advisory sheets are provided in a green folder;
regular newsletters are sent giving updates on new ideas, regulations, etc.; contacts
for more detailed information and assistance are listed; and structured training
sessions are oered. Auditors act as green signposts for further advice, nancial
assistance and as a support team.
Relating business to government. The scheme provides an excellent
communication channel. Each year the criteria are discussed with government
agencies (especially Forum members) enabling new concerns to be reected
and feedback from enterprises to be passed on. For example, the Environment
Protection Agencys concern about chemical toilet disposal has been translated
into a requirement for holiday parks and camp sites.
Links to nancial instruments. Enterprises in the scheme are given up-to-date
information about relevant nancial assistance such as interest free loans to
small businesses for insulation, installation of ecient energy sources, etc. Some
government nancial assistance schemes to support tourism development or
improvement now require enterprises to sign up to the GTBS.
Involvement of government services. A number of local authorities are having
their own services certicated through the scheme. Certication of Tourist
Information Centres has been found to be particularly valuable, as their sta
have regular contact with small businesses and are able to pass on interest in
sustainability through their own experience and example.
Marketing support. Enterprises in the scheme are clearly identied in
VisitScotlands ocial publications and websites, which display the green label
alongside quality rating. In addition, a separate green guide and webpages are
dedicated to certicated enterprises only.
The commercial advantage. Surveys of participants have found that around 30
per cent can point to specic cost savings as a result of their involvement in the
scheme and that average bedroom occupancy levels of hotels in the scheme are
around 10 per cent higher than for Scotland as a whole. It is these commercial
advantages that provide the most persuasive arguments in winning new members.
The need to keep things simple. Experience has shown that small tourism
businesses respond much more positively to simple criteria, clearly expressed.
175
176
Annex 1:
Annex 1
178
Annex 1
Baseline Issue
Suggested Baseline Indicator(s)
Energy Management Per capita consumption of energy from all sources (overall,
and by tourist sector, per person day)
Percentage of businesses participating in energy
conservation programmes or applying energy saving policy
and techniques
% of energy consumption from renewable resources (at
destinations, establishments)
Water Availability
Water use: (total volume consumed and litres per tourist
and Consumption
per day)
Water saving (% reduced, recaptured or recycled)
Drinking Water
Percentage of tourism establishments with water treated to
Quality
international potable standards.
Frequency of water-borne diseases: number/percentage of
visitors reporting water-borne illnesses during their stay
Percentage of sewage from site receiving treatment (to
Sewage Treatment
primary, secondary, tertiary levels)
(Wastewater
Percentage of tourism establishments (or
Management)
accommodation) on treatment system(s)
Waste volume produced by the destination (tonnes) (by
Solid Waste
month)
Management
Volume of waste recycled (m3) / Total volume of waste
(Garbage)
(m3) (specify by dierent types)
Quantity of waste strewn in public areas (garbage counts)
Development
Existence of a land use or development planning process,
Control
including tourism
% of area subject to control (density, design, etc.)
Controlling Use
Total number of tourist arrivals (mean, monthly, peak
Intensity
periods)
Number of tourists per square metre of the site (e.g.
at beaches, attractions), per square kilometre of the
destination, mean number/peak period average
179
Annex 1
180
Additional Resources
Additional
Resources
182
Additional
Resources
with Rio, where tourism was not dealt with. The Plan of Implementation which
emerged from the Johannesburg conference refers to tourism in relation to energy,
biodiversity conservation, Small Island Developing States and African issues. A
complete article on tourism (43) was also included.
Agenda 21, 1992, United Nations
http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/documents/agenda21/index.htm
Agenda 21 is a comprehensive plan of action to be used globally, nationally and
locally by organizations of the United Nations System, Governments, and Major
Groups in every area in which humans impact on the environment. Agenda 21, the
Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, and the Statement of principles
for the Sustainable Management of Forests were adopted by more than 178
Governments at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development
(UNCED) held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 314 June 1992.
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related to boat operation and maintenance and during marine excursions (snorkelling,
diving and scuba; seafood consumption and souvenir purchasing; recreational shing;
and marine wildlife viewing). A self-assessment checklist is inserted to promote the
practice of evaluating environmental performance among marine recreation providers.
The guide is available in English and Spanish.
Supply Chain Management for Tour Operators - Three Steps Towards Sustainability,
2004, TOI/ Center for Environmental Leadership in Business (CELB)
http://www.toinitiative.org/supplychain/supply.htm
The Tour Operators Initiative has developed a methodology for tour operators
seeking to integrate economic, environmental and social sustainability criteria in
their providers service agreements. The Guide was developed with a participatory
approach, involving from the outset tour operator members of the TOI already
working on sustainability with their suppliers. The Guide proposes a three step
approach for the integration of sustainability criteria in the selection of suppliers, and
is supported by examples and tips.
Tourism and Poverty Alleviation: Recommendations for Action, 2004, WTO
http://www.world-tourism.org/cgi-bin/infoshop.storefront/EN/product/1349-1
This book provides evidence of the contribution that tourism can make to achieving
one of the most pressing UN Millennium Development Goals: alleviating poverty.
Based on an extensive analysis of successful experiences, it gives clear and practical
recommendationsto governments, private tourism companies, international and
bilateral development agencies and other stakeholderson the various ways and
means they can utilize to make tourism a poverty alleviation tool.
Sustainable Tourism: The Tour Operators Contribution, 2003, TOI
http://www.toinitiative.org/good_practices/case_studies.htm
Over 30 case studies, grouped in the key business areas of supply chain management;
internal management; product management and development; customer relations;
and cooperation with destinations provide an overview of the diverse approaches and
tools that tour operators can adopt. The supply chain management examples include
the use of green checklists to assess hoteliers, the introduction of environmental
clauses into contracts, the provision of technical assistance, and the introduction of a
suppliers food hygiene campaign.
Climate Change and Tourism, 2003, WTO
http://www.world-tourism.org/sustainable/climate/nal-report.pdf
This publication was prepared as a result of the First International Conference
on Climate Change and Tourism, held on 911 April 2003, in Djerba, Tunisia.
It includes a basic report and summaries of the discussions and sessions on the
consequences, opportunities and risks that the tourism sector is facing as a result
of changes in worlds climate. The publication includes the Djerba Declaration on
Tourism and Climate Change and the Agenda of Action.
A Practical Guide to Good Practice: Managing Environmental and Social Issues in
the Accommodations Sector, 2003, TOI/ Center for Environmental Leadership in
Business (CELB)
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http://www.toinitiative.org/supplychain/supply.htm
The guide provides information to managers on key environmental and social
issues including: energy and water conservation, waste management, chemical use,
purchasing, contributing to community development and biodiversity conservation,
sta management and developing environmental management systems. For
each issue, the guide oers a brief summary, the business benets of adopting
good practices and a sample of actions that managers can adopt to improve the
performance of their facilities. References to additional resources are also provided.
Switched On: Renewable Energy Opportunities in the Tourism Industry, 2003, UNEP-DTIE
http://www.uneptie.org/pc/tourism/library/energy.htm
A handbook exploring how clean and renewable forms of energy can sustainably
power the tourism industry. It provides the latest information on solar, wind, hydro,
geothermal and biomass resources. Written in simple non-technical language with
specic tourism case studies, the handbook can help small and medium-sized tourism
business assess which technologies and systems are most cost-eective.
Tourism and Biodiversity: Mapping Tourisms Global Footprint, 2003, UNEP-DTIE /
Conservation International
http://www.uneptie.org/tourism/library/mapping_tourism.htm
A publication illustrating the overlap between tourism development (present and
forecasted) and biodiversity hotspots, highlighting tourism related threats and
opportunities for biodiversity conservation and improved human welfare. To explore
the relationship between tourism development, biodiversity conservation and poverty
reduction at the global level, a series of maps were produced that plot tourism and
socio-economic data against priority biodiversity areas.
Tourism and Local Agenda 21 - The Role of Local Authorities in Sustainable Tourism,
2003, UNEP-DTIE and the International Council for Local Environmental
Initiatives (ICLEI)
http://www.uneptie.org/pc/tourism/library/local-agenda21.htm
This study looks at how tourism has been taken into account in local Agenda 21s, as
drawn up and implemented by local authorities. The Agenda 21 planning framework
is useful to local authorities facing the impacts of tourism development, in dening
strategic goals for all stakeholders, and using tourism eectively to achieve a
communitys main goals. It is based on a study of the hands-on experience gained by
ve European local communities involved to varying degrees in tourist activity, and
having adopted a local Agenda 21 approach.
Sustainable Development of Ecotourism - A Compilation of Good Practices in SMEs,
2003, WTO
http://www.world-tourism.org/cgi-bin/infoshop.storefront/EN/product/1312-1
A compilation containing 65 case studies from 47 countries of exemplary practices in
small ecotourism businesses. The studies provide rich details on methodologies and
business approaches applied successfully by a wide range of ecotourism companies;
they provide a valuable well of information that can serve to generate ideas and adapt
sustainable ecotourism practices to specic local conditions elsewhere. The experiences
presented in this book come directly from the eld, from the people who have
developed these initiatives and who are daily in charge of these business ventures. They
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are a good reection of the complexity of small businesses, the great challenges and
opportunities they face, and the endless creativity that this business allows for.
Tourism and Poverty Alleviation, 2002, WTO
http://www.world-tourism.org/isroot/wto/pdf/1267-1.pdf
This report reects the WTOs concern that the benets of tourism should be widely
spread in society and that the poor should benet from tourism development. It
reviews current experience of tourism and poverty reduction in order to identify
what is known about the contribution which the tourism industry can make to the
elimination of poverty. It also makes recommendations for action by government, the
industry, development agencies and local communities.
WTO Contributions to WSSD, 2002, WTO
http://www.world-tourism.org/sustainable/wssd/WTO-contributions-eng.pdf
In preparation for the World Summit on Sustainable Development, WTO published
a complete document containing, amongst others, the Report of the WTO Secretary
General, a Policy Report on sustainable development of tourism and a list of the
Actions in Assisting Developing Countries to Implement Agenda 21 undertaken by
the WTO since 1992.
Industry as a Partner for Sustainable Development: Tourism, 2002, World Travel and
Tourism Council (WTTC), International Federation of Tour Operators (IFTO),
International Hotel and Restaurant Association (IH&RA), International Council of
Cruise Lines (ICCL), facilitated by UNEP DTIE
http://www.uneptie.org/pc/tourism/library/wssd_report.htm
UNEP, in partnership with various industry organizations, launched a reporting
initiative to gauge progress by the private sector towards sustainable development.
This eort contributed to the wider review of progress with the implementation of
Agenda 21, under the framework of the World Summit on Sustainable Development.
Ecotourism: Principles, Practices and Policies for Sustainability, 2002, UNEP-DTIE / TIES
http://www.uneptie.org/pc/tourism/library/ecotourism.htm
A publication reviewing the current status and trends in ecotourism globally, the
challenges ahead and the lessons learned in over 15 years of ecotourism development
involving a broad range of stakeholders. It incorporates comments and suggestions
from recognized academics, NGO, representative and inter-governmental agencies as
WTO, IUCN and UNEP.
Industry and Environment, Vol.25 No.2, Responsible Entrepreneurship for Sustainable
Development, 2002, UNEP
http://www.uneptie.org/media/review/vol25no2/I&EVOL25.PDF
This issue of Industry & Environment formed part of UNEPs contribution to the
World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg. It examines the
role of business and industry in bringing about the changes urgently needed for
sustainable development.
International Year of Ecotourism, Report of Activities, 2002, WTO
http://www.world-tourism.org/sustainable/IYE-Main-Menu.htm
At the request of the United Nations General Assembly, the WTO has prepared a
report on the activities undertaken by States and major international organizations
186
in the framework of the International Year of Ecotourism. The report and archives of
IYE 2002 (preparatory conferences reports, etc.), can be found at the above website.
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Resources
The World Ecotourism Summit - Final Report, 2002, UNEP and WTO
http://www.world-tourism.org/sustainable/IYE/quebec/anglais/index_a.html
This report contains the summaries of the debates held and conclusions reached at
the World Ecotourism Summit and its preparatory process, as well as the Quebec
Declaration on Ecotourism. The World Ecotourism Summit, was held in Quebec City,
Canada from 19 to 22 May, 2002. This was the principal event to mark 2002 as the
International Year of Ecotourism. The purpose of the Summit was to bring together
governments, international agencies, NGOs, tourism enterprises, representatives of local
and indigenous communities, academic institutions and individuals with an interest
in ecotourism, and enable them to learn from each other and identify some agreed
principles and priorities for the future development and management of ecotourism.
Enhancing the Economic Benets of Tourism for Local Communities and Poverty
Alleviation, 2002, WTO
http://www.world-tourism.org/cgi-bin/infoshop.storefront/EN/product/1280-1
This study is based on the document that was presented in a seminar that took place
in Petra, Jordan, on 20 June 2002, within the framework of the 68th session of the
WTO Executive Council. The document has been complemented by the addition
of ten case studies that were presented by the Council members during the seminar.
These case studies highlight either the countries national policies and approaches to
community-based tourism or specic projects that are considered success stories.
Sustainable Development of Ecotourism - A Compilation of Good Practices, 2001, WTO
http://www.world-tourism.org/cgi-bin/infoshop.storefront/EN/product/1214-1
Publication prepared on the occasion of the International Year of Ecotourism 2002.
It is the second volume within the series of Good Practices published in the area of
Sustainable Development of Tourism. The 55 case studies taken from 39 countries
present a wide range of successful ecotourism initiatives. Each of them is presented in
a systematic form, describing stakeholders involved, objectives and strategies, funding,
sustainability and monitoring aspects, problems encountered and solutions found in
each project, etc. The sustainability aspects are further detailed according to specic
elements of ecotourism such as: conservation, community involvement, interpretation
and education, as well as environmental management practices.
Sustainable Development of Tourism - A Compilation of Good Practices, 2000, WTO
http://www.world-tourism.org/cgi-bin/infoshop.storefront/EN/product/1156-1
The progress towards a more sustainable tourism industry is best demonstrated
through success stories. This publication contains around 50 examples of good
practices in sustainable development and management of tourism, collected from
31 countries. A great variety of projects are presented, ranging from local to
regional and national levels, including activities of the public, private and NGO
sectors, covering aspects of eco-, rural- and cultural tourism, accommodation, tour
operations, transportation, protected area management, regulatory and voluntary
frameworks, among others. Each case is described in a systematic order, including
detailed background information, success factors for sustainability, problems and their
solutions, lessons learnt, and monitoring activities.
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Agenda 21 for the Travel and Tourism Industry, 1996, WTO and WTTC
http://www.world-tourism.org/sustainable/publications.htm
A joint WTO, WTTC and Earth Council publication outlining practical steps that
governments and private companies can take to implement the goals of the Rio Earth
Summit and make the tourism sector more sustainable.
Rural Tourism A Solution for Employment, Local Development, and Environment,
1996, WTO
http://www.world-tourism.org/cgi-bin/infoshop.storefront/EN/product/1054-1
This publication is a result of the CEU-ETC Joint Seminar, held in Israel in 1996.
The purpose of this seminar was to promote an exchange of experience on rural
tourism between member countries, including in particular those for whom tourism
presents a new challenge. The publication includes a selection of presentations
submitted to the seminar, covering subjects such as rural tourism: products, market,
and marketing methods; rural tourism and local development, environmental
protection, and government aid; rural tourism: professions, training, qualications,
and employment creation; prospects for rural tourism in the future: cooperation to
ensure that this product promotes sustainable tourism at local level.
The Environmental Action Pack for Hotels, Technical Report Series No.31, 1995,
UNEP-DTIE
http://www.uneptie.org/pc/tourism/library/
The Environmental Action Pack for Hotels is a response to Agenda 21
recommendations that business and industry shall be encouraged to recognize
environmental management as among the highest corporate priorities and as a key
determinant to sustainable development. The Environmental Action Pack is an
essential rst step guide for hoteliers around the world. It is also of interest to industry
associations, teaching institutions and governments directly involved in promoting and
supporting the tourism industry in its environmental management activities.
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Measurement instruments
Indicators of Sustainable Development for Tourism Destinations, 2004, WTO
http://www.world-tourism.org/cgi-bin/infoshop.storefront/EN/product/1369-1
This guidebook is the most comprehensive resource on this topic, the result of an
extensive study on indicator initiatives worldwide, involving 62 experts from more
than 20 countries. It describes over 40 major sustainability issues, ranging from the
management of natural resources (waste, water, energy, etc.), to development control,
satisfaction of tourists and host communities, preservation of cultural heritage,
seasonality, economic leakages, or climate change, to mention just a few. For each issue,
indicators and measurement techniques are suggested with practical information sources
and examples. The publication also contains a procedure to develop destination-specic
indicators, their use in tourism policy and planning processes, as well as applications
in dierent destination types (e.g. coastal, urban, ecotourism, small communities).
Numerous examples and 25 comprehensive case studies provide a wide range of
experiences at the company, destination, national and regional levels from all continents.
Guide to Good Practice in Tourism Carrying Capacity Assessment, 2003, PAP/RAC
http://www.pap-thecoastcentre.org/publications.html
The aim of this Guide is to discuss various practices in Tourism Carrying Capacity
Assessment (CCA), including those using methodologies other than that of
PAP, and to stimulate new ideas for the future preparation of CCA studies in the
Mediterranean and in other parts of the world. The examples presented in the
document help to demonstrate in which types of area, in both geographic and
economic terms, CCA can be used in a most ecient way.
130 Indicators for sustainable development in the Mediterranean Region, 2000, UNEP/
PAM/ Plan Bleu
http://www.planbleu.org/vfrancaise/3-5b1.htm
The indicators have been adopted by the Contracting Parties in Malta, 1999. They were
selected during two-years of work by the Mediterranean Commission of Sustainable
Development (MCSD), and were validated by the Contracting Parties.
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and weaknesses of the actions taken to date, and to make recommendations on the
way forward. In prosecuting these objectives the Study examines the present status
of the legal and institutional framework for coastal zone management in the English
speaking Caribbean.
UNEP Environmental Impact Assessment Training Resource Manual, Second Edition
and Studies of EIA Practice in Developing Countries, 2003, UNEP
http://www.earthprint.com/
The main objective of this publication is to facilitate the preparation of training
courses and materials that are specic to a particular country or region. Resource aids
are included to help EIA trainers to identify the needs of participants and to customdesign courses to meet them. The case studies have been prepared by EIA specialists
from developing countries to exemplify how the EIA process is implemented in
dierent parts of the developing world and to identify diculties that are commonly
encountered in EIA practice in this context. It is intended that the case studies will
be of use in two main ways. Firstly, they can be incorporated into customized training
materials to give them added relevance and realism. Secondly, the studies can be used
as reference points or building blocks to develop specic cases that reect experience
and issues of EIA practice in a country or region.
Sustainable Tourism in Protected Areas: Guidelines for Planning and Management,
2002, UNEP/IUCN/WTO
http://www.uneptie.org/pc/tourism/library/sust_prot_areas.htm
http://www.world-tourism.org/cgi-bin/infoshop.storefront/EN/product/1259-1
Publication aiming to assist protected area managers and other stakeholders in the
planning and management of protected areas based on a wealth of practical case
studies and experience. Ensuring that tourism follows a sustainable path requires
clear leadership and enhanced partnership at all levels, particularly between the
tourism industry and relevant government and non government agencies. This book
describes how this can be achieved.
Tourism in the Least Developed Countries, 2001, WTO
http://www.world-tourism.org/cgi-bin/infoshop.storefront/EN/product/1170-1
To draw attention to the valuable economic opportunities which tourism can
create, the WTO and UNCTAD organized a High Level Meeting on Tourism and
Development in the Least Developed Countries. This publication is a collection of
the presentations and discussion papers delivered during this meeting. It provides
recommendations on how developing countries can present and enhance their
tourism resources in order to compete in the international marketplace.
Integrated Coastal Management Guidelines for the ROMPE Region, 2000, UNEP-ROMPE
http://www.ropme.com/pages/publications.asp#
Guidelines that are applicable in almost any coastal situation, such as a gradual
process of ICAM implementation within some or all of the seven steps proposed.
Other elements such as the importance of individual natural resources, possibilities
of implementation, institutional arrangements, or the application of tools and
techniques, must be understood and applied with exibility and with regard to the
conditions prevailing in every particular area.
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Economic instruments
Tourism Satellite Accounts Project Webpage, WTO
http://www.world-tourism.org/statistics
Satellite accounts are a procedure to measure the size of economic sectors which, like
tourism, are not dened as industries in national accounts. Tourism, for example, is
194
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195
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Resources
Financing Sustainable Energy Directory: A Listing of Lenders and Investors, 2002, UNEP-FI
http://www.fse-directory.net/
The Financing Sustainable Energy Directory is an inventory of lenders and investors
who provide nance to the renewable energy and energy eciency sectors. It is
designed to help project developers and entrepreneurs seeking capital, as well as
investors looking for nancing vehicles.
Tourism Taxation, 1998, WTO
http://www.world-tourism.org/cgi-bin/infoshop.storefront/EN/product/1025-1
This study presents a comprehensive analysis of the eects of taxation on the tourism
industry and oers a series of recommendations aimed at assisting governments
in nding the right tourism taxation structure. Building on and complementing
previous reports on this subject, it is the result of detailed research and the input of
six regional seminars held around the world. It provides an analysis and discussion
of tourism taxation concepts and issues, a tourism taxation typology, and examines
future trends. The ndings and conclusions are illustrated with an analysis of six
country case studies and a further selection of other geographic examples.
Voluntary instruments
Reports of the Regional Conferences on Sustainability Certication of Tourism,
2003/2004, WTO
Europe http://www.world-tourism.org/sustainable/conf/cert-czech/eng.htm
Americas http://www.world-tourism.org/sustainable/conf/cert-brasil/esp.htm
Asia-Pacic http://www.world-tourism.org/sustainable/conf/cert-malaysia/nalrep.htm
The need for greater sustainability in tourism services and activities is already
widely recognized at all levels. Moreover, there are many and varied planning and
development methodologies, as well as tourism management techniques that make
it possible to attain higher levels of sustainability and to increase them gradually.
Such methodologies and techniques can be complemented by voluntary certication
systems for tourism services. The companies and organizations that provide them
began appearing on the international tourism market in 1990 and have proliferated
over the past few years.
WTO recommendations to governments for supporting and /or establishing national
certication systems for sustainable tourism, 2003, WTO
http://www.world-tourism.org/sustainable/doc/certication-gov-recomm.pdf
This document emphasizes the role of governments in establishing and coordinating
multi-stakeholder processes for certication systems, gives orientations for
developing certication criteria, and on the following operational aspects (application,
verication, awarding of certication, consulting, advisory and technical assistance
services, marketing and communication, fees and funding, etc.)
Voluntary Initiatives for Sustainable Tourism - Worldwide Inventory and Comparative
Analysis of 104 Eco-labels, Awards and Self-Commitments, 2002, WTO
http://www.world-tourism.org/cgi-bin/infoshop.storefront/EN/product/1232-1
This study, based on the analysis of 104 voluntary initiatives worldwide, provides
an evaluation of the eectiveness of existing schemes. It identies similarities and
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dierences among voluntary initiatives and outlines the factors that make them
successful in terms of sustainable tourism development. Based on the results,
guidelines are made available to tourism companies wishing to adopt any of these
voluntary schemes; organizations that run these initiatives, in order to improve
existing schemes or create new ones; as well as for governments and NGOs, to
provide them with technical criteria and guidelines for the support and supervision
they may wish to give to these initiatives.
Sustainability Reporting Guidelines, 2002, Global Reporting Initiative (GRI)
http://www.globalreporting.org/guidelines/2002/GRI_guidelines_print.pdf
The Guidelines represent the foundation upon which all other GRI reporting
documents are based, and outline core content that is broadly relevant to all
organizations regardless of size, sector, or location. All organizations seeking to report
using the GRI framework should use the Guidelines as the basis for their report,
supported by other GRI documents as applicable.
Sustainability Reporting Guidelines- Tour Operators Sector Supplement, 2002, Global
Reporting Initiative (GRI)
http://www.toinitiative.org/reporting/documents/TourOperatorsSupplementNovem
ber2002.pdf
This book oer performance indicators specic to the sector, developed in multistakeholder fashion. The indicators can support tour operators in producing a detailed
report on their sustainability performance, for public disclosure as well as to monitor
internally their performance and benchmark progress.
Trust Us: The Global Reporters 2002 Survey of Corporate Sustainability Reporting,
2002, SustainAbility
http://www.sustainability.com/online/
Trust Us is the second report in the Global Reporters series to put corporate
sustainability reporting under the microscope and focus on the emerging trends and
hot topics that are bubbling underor boiling overin this increasingly important
area of corporate accountability.
Child prostitution in tourism watch - International Campaign Against Sexual
Exploitation of Children in Tourism, WTO
http://www.world-tourism.org/protect_children/index.htm
In recognition of the need to engage both governments and the private sector in
the international campaign against child sex tourism the WTO child prostitution
in tourism watch and partners (ECPAT, International Federation of Journalists and
Terre des Hommes, Germany) have implemented a series of interrelated projects. The
main activities include the implementation of guidelines for focal points at national
tourism administrations and local tourism destinations, the application of the Code
of Conduct for the Protection of Children from Sexual Exploitation in Travel
and Tourism and its six criteria for tour operators, the incorporation of training
modules on SECT in curricula of tourism education centres, the improvement of
knowledge about SECT among journalists and young people in Europe. The project
also acknowledges the diversity of tourism stakeholders and encourages all sectors
to participate, including tour operators, hotels, airlines and government tourism
ministries.
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Supporting instruments
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Resources
199
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200
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201
202
Contact name
Organization
Bulgaria
Kamelia Georgieva
Scotland
Sandy Dear
Mexico
Egypt
Ahmed Hassan
Costa Rica
Amos Bien
Australia
Alice Crabtree
Ghana
Wouter Schalken
Johann Kotze
Calvia
Maxi Lange
Eduardo Cozar
Pablo de la Pea
www.ecotourism.bulgariatravel.org
sandy.dear@visitscotland.
com
www.greentourism.org.uk
ahassan1@rssti.com
www.rssti.com
The International
Ecotourism Society
amos@ecotourism.org
www.visitcostarica.com
www.turismo-sostenible.co.cr
SNV Ghana
wschalken@snvghana.org
Secretara de Turismo de
Mxico
Department of
Environmental Aairs and
Tourism
Ian Challenger
Website
kgeorgieva@hrc-bg.com
The International
Ecotourism Society
Tourism Queensland
David Morgans
South Africa
Kaikoura
Biodiversity Conservation
and Economic Growth
Project
jcarnau@sectur.gob.mx
luriate@sectur.gob.mx
alice@ecotourism.org
david.morgans@tq.com.au
www.sectur.gob.mx
www.atc.net.au
www.tq.com.au
www.snvworld.org
Jkotze@deat.gov.za
www.environment.gov.za
Ajuntament de Calvi
mlange@calvia.com
ecozar@calvia.com
www.calvia.com
ian.challenger@kaikoura.
govt.nz
www.kaikoura.co.nz
Boxed Examples
Boxed example
Box #
Contact name
Honduras
structures
3.1
Yara Zuiga
Fiji SEA
3.2
Daniele Ponzi
Europarc
Charter
4.2
Richard Blackman
Lanzarote
Observatory
5.1
Iguazu data
5.2
Malta carrying
capacity
5.3
204
Marie Louise
Mangion
Organization
Website
Asian Development
Bank
dponzi@adb.org
www.wwf.org.uk/lelibrary/
pdf/jitourism.pdf
Honduras Institute of
Tourism
EUROPARC
Federation
yzuniga@iht.hn
r.blackman@europarc.org
Cabildo de Lanzarote
Malta Tourism
Authority
marielouise.
mangion@visitmalta.com
www.letsgohonduras.com
www.europarc.org
www.cabildodelanzarote.
com/areas/presidencia/
biosfera
www.iguazuforest.com
www.mta.com.mt
Boxed example
5.4
Box #
Contact name
Vietnam law
5.5
douglas@snv.org.vn
England
regulations
5.6
marion.hammerl@bodensee- www.ecolup.info
stiftung.org
ECOLUP
planning
5.7
Marion Hammerl
Maldives
regulations
5.8
Colombia
enforcement
5.9
Moosa Zameer
Hassan
Belize Trust
5.11
Madagascar
revenues
5.11
Morocco loans
5.12
Myriem Touhami
Catalonia
incentives
5.12
Salvador Semitier
Marti
Rimini beaches
5.12
Enzo Finocchiaro
UK Carbon
Trust
5.12
Barbados oset
5.12
Exploitation
code
5.13
Arctic codes
5.14
Miriam Geitz
Sydney
reporting
5.15
Simon McArthur
S Africa
trademark
5.16
Jennifer Seif
Blue Flag
5.18
Finn Bolding
Thomsen
Lake District
Trust
5.19
Claire Stott
Richard Tapper
Organization
Namibia Ministry
of Environment and
Tourism
VisitBritain
Maldives Ministry of
Tourism
-
Protected Areas
Conservation Trust
Association Nationale
pour la Gestion des
Aires Protges
zameer@maldivestourism.
gov.mv
rtapper@dircon.co.uk
www.maldivestourism.
gov.mv
www.bfn.de/09/tayrona.pdf
www.parcs-madagascar.
com/angap
Provincia di Rimini
nocchiaro@provincia.
rimini.it
ECPAT
www.tourismtrade.org.
uk/uktrade/advisory
www.pactbelize.org
Myriem.touhami@unep.fr
Government of
Barbados
www.vietnam-tourism.com
United Nations
Environment
Programme
Website
www.dea.met.gov.na
www.uneptie.org/energy/
www.gencat.net/mediamb/
qamb/inici.htm
www.turismosostenibile.
provincia.rimini.it
www.hospitableclimates.
co.uk
www.barbadostourisminvest
ment.com
www.thecode.org
WWF Arctic
Programme
mgeitz@wwf.no
www.panda.org/arctic
www.q-station.com.au
Simon.McArthur@qstation.com.au
info@fairtourismsa.org.za
Q-Station
European Voluntary
Initiative for
Sustainability in
Tourism
Foundation for
Environmental
Education
www.fairtourismsa.org.za
www.yourvisit.info
blueag@blueag.org
www.blueag.org
Claire@lakespartnership.
org.uk
www.lakespartnership.
org.uk
205
Namibia
conservancies
Boxed example
Box #
Austria
transport
5.20
Turkey waste
5.21
ODIT France
5.22
Contact name
Veronika Holzer
Jean-Paul
Teyssandier
-
Jamaica EAST
5.24
Hugh Cresser
Nepal TRPAP
5.25
REDTURS
5.26
Leave no Trace
5.28
UK market
inuence
5.29
Tanzania
Culture
206
5.27
Organization
Austrian Ministry of
veronika.
Agriculture, Forestry,
holzer@lebensministerium.
Environment and Water at
-
Observation,
Dveloppement et
Ingnierie Touristique,
France
jean-paul.teyssandier@oditfrance.fr
Environmental Audits
for Sustainable Tourism
project
east@infochan.com
The Countryside
Agency
rjpandey_trpap@ntb.org.np
Website
www.mobilito.at; www.
alpsmobility.org
www.toinitiative.org/
destinations/destination.
htm#Side
www.odit-france.fr
www.greenauditkit.org
www.welcomenepal.
com/trpap
www.redturs.org
www.lnt.org
www.snvworld.org/cds/
rgTUR/documents_1.htm
www.fco.gov.uk
www.dd.gov.uk/pubs/les/
rough-guide/better-world.
pdf
207
Notes
208
209